Turning of the Wheel
by Napoleon Error
Summary: Death Gate and Wheel of Time crossover. Haplo, master of the strongest form of magic, is drawn from his own battle into another, in a new world. Can he make a difference in the fight against the Dark Lord and help certain three boys with a grand destiny?
1. Prologue

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

Haplo collapsed. He was inside the Seventh Gate, chamber from which there was a doorway to all the current worlds in existence and where those worlds alongside the Deathgate had been created, by destroying the old world. Haplo looked up and saw his master Xar concentrating in preparation of the spell that would break the worlds once more and return the old world. With untold humans, dwarfs and elves dying once again. But they were inconsequential; they were merely _mensch_, lower creatures not worth consideration. At least that was what the sartans and patryns as people thought. It was what Haplo used to think. But on the bidding of his master he had visited all the worlds, causing chaos and readying them for his master. But he had met the dragon worms, the ultimate evil personified. He had also seen the mensch at war, in love, confused, with a self-found purpose, unified, scattered and everything between. As he understood it, the only difference between them and the sartans/patryns was power, or more specifically rune magic. Oh yes, the mensch knew magic and basic science, but they had yet to archive even elemental magic. Without guidance they would not learn rune magic in a millenium, the closest thing to absolute power a mortal could have.

Despite Haplos' claims of stopping his master Xar, he had not defended himself from his masters' attack. Behind him, he could hear his first friend, the sartan Alfred, battling against a worm inside the chaotic hallway that was Deathgate. Deathgate, the corridor that could be used from a specific location within any world to travel to any other world. Yet the corridor itself could be accessed trough the Seventh Gate alone. Haplo had no strength left but still he had to do something, else his people and the sartans would be locked inside the Labyrinth, a world that in essence was a sentient prison and execution centre, and the mensch of the four worlds would be defenceless against the evil worms. And eventually even the patryns and sartans would fall to the dracoworms, even if they didn't kill each other off within the first few months. Pure evil that drew sustenance from disorder and fear would reign.

Haplo could not afford this. If he merely could close this end of the Deathgate and create a distraction, Alfred might be able to do the same on the other end. All travel between the worlds would become impossible as would be the spell Xar was about to cast, but at least there would be no more suffering, no more war between the patryns and the sartans for they along with the worms would be forever imprisoned within the Labyrinth. No more innocents would be caught in the battles of half-gods. Determined to end all this, Haplo crawled trough the door that had the rune representing death on it. He now stood on a narrow walkway that floated amidst a myriad of colours swirling around it.

The pure chaos of possibilities being created, destroyed, combined and separated all at the same time all around him was almost too much for his wounded body. Summoning all his remaining strength, bodily and magical, Haplo stood up and began to close the doorway, leaning on it. At first he wasn't noticed by anyone, but when the door was almost completely closed he heard shouts of distress and an evil hiss from the chamber known as the seventh gate. Xar and the worm urging him onwards had seen what Haplo was up to. But too late.

The door slammed shut. Haplo turned around and began drawing flaming runes into the air. It would not be a powerful spell, but Haplo had not the strength for anything more. Drawing the last rune into the air and pronouncing its name, its function, the spell fired.

The runes glowed fiercely, multiplied and finally condensed into a flaming ball. The ball flew trough the corridor towards the battling pair and… disappeared. Haplo could not believe his eyes. "This can't be happening!" he yelled aloud, powerless and hopeless, as he collapsed to his knees. But then he saw the reality of what had happened.

The ball had not vanished. It had been swallowed by the chaos swirling around him. He saw the possibilities around him affect the ball. Suddenly there were twenty fireballs, the next second only one, but with purple flames, the next blink of an eye it was a thrown dagger. Haplo had not expected this, but now as he thought of it, it certainly seemed possible. And even more, it seemed quite likely. His magic, based on weaving a possibility wave into becoming reality, had become as chaotic as the Deathgate itself, because Deathgate was a convergence point for all possibilities. Within the Deathgate, literally everything was possible.

Then the spell reached its target. At that point it was a huge spiked steel ball travelling at hundreds of miles an hour. The worm didn't know what hit it and Alfred, his hated enemy, his friend, finished it off. It would be reborn later, for as long as there was sufficient amounts of fear they would be truly immortal, but for know it was gone.

But Haplo didn't have time to rejoice of his successful attack. Barely conscious, Haplo could no longer resist the torrents around him. He collapsed on the narrow walkway and fell off of it. The last thing he saw was himself flying away from Alfred, who was looking towards Haplo with sad and desperate eyes, trying to catch him. _Just close the damn door!_ he thought. He didn't have the strength to say it out loud. Then Haplo saw no more as he was pulled deeper into the chaotic swirl of possibilities.


	2. Unwanted Revelations

**Chapter 2: ****Unwanted Revelations**

When Haplo came to, he had no idea where he was or how much time had passed. He assumed he was still inside the Deathgate. His surroundings were no longer pure chaos, but instead a rapidly changing flow of images, images of 'what ifs'.

He saw how the world was destroyed by the sartan council and how they failed to craft the new worlds from the remains of the old one. He saw the patryns killing the great Samah, leader of sartan council, during the construction of the seventh gate. He saw how all the patryns were killed shortly after their arrival to Labyrinth. He saw how his parents were killed before he was born. He saw his own death a dozen times, always in different time and different place.

He also saw how the elves and humans of Arianus, the world of Air, signed a peace treaty and worked together to resolve constant lack of water. He saw when the sartans at Abarrach failed at their first attempts of necromancy. He saw how the mighty and utterly evil worms were dying from starvation when they were still restricted to the world of Water, as the people of the four worlds no longer felt fear and despair but hope and happiness.

He saw how the worlds formed an everlasting alliance when the Deathgate opened by itself. He saw all the 'lesser' races rise into greatness without the interference of neither sartans nor patryns. He saw all of them die away in meaningless wars and disputes. Haplo tried to concentrate on some of the images, to guide the possibilities. If he could stabilize a single possibility, he might be able to enter it and escape from the clutches of the Deathgate. Or so he thought, for at the moment he had no other hope. He had no idea what or how he breathed for that matter, only that he somehow did or that he no longer had to.

But alas, his efforts to save himself were in vain. Even if some control could be exerted, he was too weak to do it. Haplo dared not to heal himself, for it was possible that the spell too would be warped from its original purpose. Thus he drifted past the fleeting images, wounded, weak and alone. It didn't take long for him to lose consciousness again.

The next time he opened his eyes, the images were still there but they were coming slower and they were more stable, more likely to happen or have happened. But when Haplo looked to these images, he was startled, for he did not recognise any of the happenings or places. All the pictures were obviously from a single world, yet the world wasn't any of those created by the sartans. And it didn't match the stories Haplo had heard of the original world.

Haplo began to wonder, if there would exist a possibility that during the creation of the original world, other worlds were created as well. Or perhaps other versions of it. _It certainly is possible_ said Haplo to himself as he chuckled dryly on his joke. For all his life, the word 'impossible' had not existed. The principles of rune magic said that with enough power anything was possible. It would be merely improbable or hard to make happen.

Suddenly Haplo sensed a change in the surrounding stream of possibilities. His direction (if one can have a sense of direction without a sense of a solid point) changed. He felt himself being pulled towards a bundle of possibilities that intertwined together in the edges of his vision. Whatever it was, it was stable, a wave that was harmonious, but strangely circular.

Haplo was approaching the latest nexus the possibilities had created. It seemed he was about to enter the world in a time when critical things were about to happen. The wave, representing possibility and perhaps reality was getting bigger and bigger as Haplo speeded towards it.

Upon contact with the enormous wave, Haplo was engulfed in a strange light. When the light faded, he found himself in the middle of a field on the edges of a large forest. He could see a farmhouse in the distance, standing atop a small hill. It was late winter, early spring perhaps, judging from the look of the surrounding nature and the condition of the field. Sun was high in the sky, but seemed like it would begin to set soon. _So it's a bit after midday._ But something didn't seem right. The landscape was almost…dreamlike, hazy, greyish in colour and a bit out of focus. And Haplo quickly realized that he couldn't hear any animals nor see anything moving.

_Am I somehow caught between two possibilities? Or is this world only partially real? No, the wave was strong, stronger than one would expect__ even from a normal world. Am I then only halfway in this world, or standing on its edges? Perhaps I might be able to gather enough strength punch trough if that is the case._

Haplo felt a new sense of hope and direction. Now he had something more concrete to work on towards his salvation, instead of merely watching fleeting possibilities randomly converging. Haplo began to draw seals into the air, creating a complete circle of his height. As he was placing the last rune, he hoped it would work.

The circle would find the closest more stable point in this world and connect to it. He then saw something move from the corner of his eye. It had been some kind of animal, rushing into the unmoving bushes. He saw it had yellowish eyes and fur. But Haplo had no time to find out more details. He needed to find shelter and heal himself and rest afterwards. Haplo called out the name of the last rune. It began to glow with blue light and then it burst into flames. The blue flame ignited the other runes in the circle.

For a while, nothing more seemed to happen. Then the landscape inside the circle changed a bit. It looked more normal, so Haplo walked trough. A quick look around told him that he was standing on the same field, but now it close to twilight. Now he could hear an owl hooting in the forest, the rustle of field mice as they scavenged for food and the sounds of humans coming from the farmhouse. There was a light lit in one of the windows. Haplo began to walk towards it with weak legs, hoping to request a small meal. Once he would have a bit of his strength back, he could heal himself. But as he was nearing the house, he realized what it would look like.

He was a complete stranger, with blood all over him and ragged clothes covering parts of his rune-tattooed body. He looked like a vagabond and the runes certainly would not help explaining things. Haplo shrugged and thought that it simply meant that he would have to resort to other means, such as stealing.

When he got closer, he could see that there was a small village right behind the farmhouse and that there was a road going to the village only a few hundred feet to his right. Deciding to enter the village instead (as it is always easier to steal in a crowd) Haplo walked to the road. After taking only a few steps on the road however, he heard the sound of horses and a carriage coming from behind him, behind a small curve in the road just inside the forest.

Seeing that he had no place to hide, he decided to do what he could to improve his outlook and conceal the telltale signs of his patryn heritage, the runes covering his body with the exception of his hands and head. So he quickly drew a few runes into the air and a long, brown robe instantly covered him from head to toe. He had once seen a human religious order called monks wear something like this. He decided not to put the hood on, as that would make him look more suspicious.

The carriage came into view. Haplo could see an older man, perhaps in his forties controlling a wagon filled with barrels. A young boy was riding on four legged creature, a horse Haplo remembered, next to the man. The boy had a bow on his back, and a mighty bow it was. It seemed to be almost as tall as the boy himself. Haplo though that if the boy could use that bow with any efficiency, it might mean trouble. Not that Haplo could be wounded with such a mundane weapon anywhere but if he got fired upon, it would prove difficult to hide his heritage and powers. Patryns were a stuff of legends after all, literal half-gods, and if someone noticed his abilities it would complicate things unnecessarily.

The wagon stopped, leaving a gap of ten feet or so between Haplo and the wagon. Haplo saw that the man had common sense, leaving room to act should Haplo prove to be hostile, yet close enough to talk in normal voice. The man on the carriage spoke to him.

"Greetings to you traveller. May I ask your name and what brings you so close to Emond's Field?" Though the man seemed friendly, his voice betrayed the slight suspicion the man must have felt.

"You shall have my name when I have yours friend." Haplo replied evenly. The eyes of the man got a little colder and he tensed a bit.

"I am Tam. Tam al'Thor. This is my son Rand."

"My name is Haplo, master al'Thor. Emond's Field you say? That would be the village over there?" At this comment the man seemed no longer vary, merely plainly confused.

"Most certainly. I find it surprising that a traveller would come this far and not know where he is. I admit we are quite in the middle of nowhere here in Two Rivers but still, I'm told that the main roads lead all the way to Caemlyn. What be your business 'round these parts anyway?" Haplo decided to trust this human a bit. Enough to tell a convincing lie at least. If he could just make Tam trust him, getting food and a safe place to stay would be so much easier.

"I am traveller and a body guard. I sell my sword to merchants who need protection. However, the merchant called Cayle I was travelling with got attacked. We were overwhelmed so I had to flee, wounded, into the forest. I've been wondering around the countryside ever since, searching for signs of settlements. And finally I found some."

"You say you are a guard? I suppose that will have to do. Come with us to the village. The mayor, al'Vere, might be able to help you with temporary accommodations and the Wisdom could have a look at your wounds. Hop on."

_Wisdom? Perhaps that is a local word for a healer? _Haplo began climbing onto the wagon, but he was overcome with dizziness and nausea. The exertion of using magic and walking had been too much for his weakened state. He tried to hold on to something, but his grip would not hold. He fell from the wagons onto his back and slipped into unconsciousness.

When he woke up, he instinctively covered it up. He didn't move a muscle, the rhythm of his breathing didn't change, but he was awake. He felt bandages all over his body. He was in a warm bed next to a fireplace. He could hear strands of conversations from the outside, one definite young female voice and an older male voice.

"…If he is a caravan guard…… no weapon, dressed in a clean robe despite the wounds… no blade nor arrow could have…The Women's Circle will be told…"

"My house, my hospitality… doesn't matter…the strange tattoos…As long as you heal him…the ultimate decision is still mine…You may be the Wisdom, but…"

They had seen his runes, yet didn't know what they meant? No use hiding the runes any longer, but their meaning was most likely still a mystery to the humans. Could it be that these _mensch_, these humans had never heard of the Patryn? Haplo decided he had to find out more later. But for know he was alone. He had his chance.

He placed the backs of his hands next to each other and spoke the name of one of the runes covering his hand. The circle of runes was complete and the meaning of the activated rune expanded. The circle of runes drew power, channeling it into the activated rune. The rune then defined the nature of the power and channelled it back into the circle. Around and around the power cycled, strengthening each rune within the circle.

Power flowed trough his body, repairing broken tissue, regenerating lost skin, replenishing the blood in his veins. For a while the room was baked in soft blue light as the magic of his runes did its work. When the glow faded, Haplo was soundly asleep and no trace of the wounds remained.

…

He was awoken by a woman's scream next to him. His instincts took over. Immediately awake, he grabbed the hand that was hovering above him, jumped of the bed and twisted the hand in his grasp painfully. Normally this would have deterred any attacker, but now Haplo received a slap to his face. The pain gave Haplo some focus.

Haplo took in more of his surroundings. The room was empty, except for the person he was holding. That person was a young woman. Haplo saw the beginnings of tears in his eyes, but they were covered by strong anger. Seeing that this woman could pose no threat to him, even if she wanted, Haplo let her go.

"I apologize for hurting you miss. My instincts tend to take over if I'm suddenly awakened from my rest…"

The woman took initiative immediately now that she was no longer held.

"How dare you! I'm coming to change your bandages from the very goodness of my heart and end up being restrained! I don't care who you think you are stranger, but…"

Haplo watched in amazement as the woman simply went on and on, scolding him like he was some kind of criminal mastermind. Haplo tried to politely interrupt her and tell her that it had been a misunderstanding, but the woman would hear none of it. It was beginning to irritate him. No matter who the woman was, Haplo had been unexpectedly awakened and he had already apologized for the pain he had caused. He could have easily crushed the woman's wrist, but he had, in the end, been fairly gentle with her. No real damage had been done to her arm. But the woman made it sound like he had purposefully planned the whole thing and personally insulted her in every possible way.

"…And you still have to apologize…"

"SILENCE!" The word Haplo spoke was spoken quite loudly. He didn't use any magic, but instead relied upon his experience on humans. Show them that you are the authority and they will listen.

The woman looked aghast. It took her a moment to truly realize that she had been interrupted. That she had allowed herself to be interrupted. It made her even angrier.

"Now you listen to me mister, I …"

"NO! You have been blabbering on and on, despite my most sincere apology at the very beginning! I will not be treated like some kind of criminal mastermind facing judgement! I have admitted my wrongdoing, as little as it was, but you still haven't explained why you woke me up so unexpectedly! You getting hurt were as much your fault as it was mine! And don't forget that you still own me an apology for that slap you gave me! Well?"

The woman looked like she would burst open. If looks could kill, Haplo would most certainly be dead. Without saying a single word, she left the room and slammed the door shut. _Well that certainly went well. I was supposed to just acquire some food and leave without more than one or two people knowing, but that girl is probably going to tell everyone what happened. They also know of my tattooed body. It'll be… difficult… to leave without giving them an explanation. And I doubt that I can explain all the things satisfactorily. _

Just then the door opened. Haplo turned to see if the woman had returned. But instead there was a middle aged man standing in the doorway. He raised his eyebrows when he saw that the visible parts of Haplo's body no longer needed bandages. But none of that surprise vas evident in his voice.

"Well now, I can see that you're finally awake. Just in time for supper. You've slept for the night and the better part of the afternoon. I'm Bran al'Vere, the mayor of Two Rivers and owner of this house. My wife has left some clean clothes for you, they're on the bench. Come downstairs when you're ready."

Before he left, Haplo spoke out of curiosity. "Mayor, who was that young woman who came to change my bandages?"

"That would be the last person in this village you should have insulted the way you did. Or rather the way she thinks you did. She is Nynaeve al'Meara, the Wisdom of this village. It would have been better if you wouldn't have shouted back at her. She's full of pride and expects everyone to be polite to her. Part of it for a reason, she is the youngest Wisdom in century around these parts. She's waiting downstairs, cooling herself off. There you can settle this and perhaps give us a few explanations…?"

"I'll be there shortly." The mayor left and Haplo began to wonder, how he would explain all this to them without appearing hostile or giving away his heritage. The answer was that he wouldn't explain it all. They hadn't recognized the meaning of his rune-covered body immediately, but it could have been just slugginess of their minds. Luckily, the clothes he had been brought cover most of his body, a long-sleeved white/grey tunic, with a brown hide jacket, brown woollen trousers and a pair of socks and cow-leather boots. The jacket went well with his brown hair.

The mood downstairs was cold at best. The Wisdom was still very much angry and the mayor, along with a few other men, was clearly expecting to hear a good explanation. Present was also a muscular man carrying a large sword and a small, beautiful woman. The man with the sword was clearly her protector of some kind.

All this Haplo took in when he stepped into the common room. The persons were sitting by a large table, next to fireplace. The house resembled an inn, though that clearly wasn't its only function. Candles were lit all around the room to give light. When Haplo took another step inside, he could feel his skin itching slightly. Quickly controlling the protective magic of his runes, he suppressed the reaction to danger. It certainly wouldn't improve his situation, if his body suddenly started to glow.

Looking and feeling around Haplo quickly discerned who posed the danger. The small woman and his protector. They could have the ability to potentially harm him. Certainly they could do no more than slightly hurt him as they were mere mensch, but he could take no chances. The woman certainly seemed to be of no danger, but something in her eyes and her regal, almost court-like behaviour and ageless face made Haplo uneasy. She was someone who had gotten used getting what she wanted.

As Haplo sat down, Bran began the introductions. "Welcome master… Haplo, was it? This is lady Moraine and this is master Lan. The Wisdom you already know. These men are part of the Village Council. I believe there are some things we have to discuss. Firstly, Nynaeve, Haplo, I would like to request that you bury the hatchet. I know I have no right to intrude upon this matter, however this is my house and such a yelling competition will not be tolerated. You Haplo are a grown man and you Nynaeve are the village Wisdom. Please try to behave."

Haplo apologized once more his rude behaviour; the Wisdom simply nodded her head. He got the distinct feeling that it was the closest the Wisdom was prepared to come to an apology.

The mayor spoke again "Good, now as for other things. Feel free to address them in any order you would like. Firstly, who are you really? We have already determined that you are no peddler guard. Second would be why you came to Two Rivers? Thirdly, I know miss al'Meara is a capable healer, but even her ointments can't mend wounds this quickly. Yet you are completely healthy. Again, why is this so?"

Haplo looked to ponder for a moment, trying to find the best way out of this. "For the first question, my name really is Haplo. I am no caravan guard, correct. I'm a soldier. Or at least was, until I deserted. I have been wondering the countryside ever since, trying to get as far away as possible from my former masters. That brings us to the second question. I came here by accident. As for the third question, I will not tell you and that's it. Anything more?"

The small woman, Moraine, spoke up. "Why did you desert? From who? And what are those tattoos?"

Haplo smiled to himself. He had been expecting this question. "I deserted, because I didn't like the way my lord treated me. These tattoos have been on my body for as long as I can remember. I believe them to be a remnant of my parent's owner. They were slaves you see. My parents bought themselves free when I was five, but they died soon after from a strange disease. I don't remember much of those times. My ex-lord… I will not speak his name."

The man, Lan, shared a long look with Moraine and then spoke. "Master Haplo, I am getting feeling you're not completely honest with us." Before Haplo could respond however, Moraine hastily stood up.

"Trollocs! Lan, go get your gear, I'll warn the others!"

The Wisdom and the mayor stood up as well. "Trollocs? We have never had trollocs here outside of a few bedside stories, good lady. I seriously doubt if they even exist."

But Moraine wasn't listening; she was already out of the door, shouting her warning to for all villagers to hear. Lan had disappeared upstairs. Haplo was slightly concerned. _Trollocs? What are they? Some kind of animals? No matter, it can't be good. I might be able to get away in the possible confusion to follow, but then again these people would spread the word about me. And if I want to have any idea of what is going on I must enter a settlement sooner or later. Looks like I have to help them. _ Then Haplo realized that his body had just now begun reacting to the approaching menace. 'Potential danger' his instincts sreamed. He wondered who the woman was and how she could have detected these trollocs so long before Haplo. But now Haplo just searched for something to fight with. His eyes settled on a sword hanging on the central fireplace.

"Mayor al'Vere, can I take that sword on top of your fireplace?"

"Certainly, though it hasn't been used in decades and it's quite rusty. But certainly you don't take lady Moraine seriously? I mean, trollocs here? No, trollocs exist only in fairytales."

But then they began hearing the animalistic roars coming from the outside. Haplo quickly took the long sword from the fireplace and speeded outside. There he noticed a horde of creatures that resembled some kind of humanoids. They walked on two legs and used their hands to carry weapons, but they were hairy, some had snouts, others had hooves or other animal features. And they were savage. They had already lit fire to two houses on the village.

These were obviously not mere animals. Not caring if somebody saw him, he quickly drew a rune on the sword. All rust disappeared from it instantly. He also hastily drew a killing rune and a speed rune on it. They were simple runes instead of complete runic circles or patterns, so they would have little power, but they would still give Haplo an edge. Not that he needed it, but he thought that it's better to be safe than sorry.

He stabbed the first trolloc that came close to him in the back and then rushed to meet the others head on. His body glowed softly as Haplo released the natural protective magic of his runes.

A trolloc attacked him with a crude sword in hand. Haplo didn't even bother to block it. The trolloc had tried to gut him, but the sword simply bounced off. Non-magical weapons couldn't harm him anywhere but head and palms and even then the strike would have to be exceptionally strong one and Haplo would have to be in an extremely weak condition. Even most magical weapons made by _mensch_ would have trouble penetrating his natural defences. As the trolloc prepared for another swing, Haplo used his sword in a backhand swing and cleanly cut the creatures head off.

Then another one approached him. And died. And then another and then another. Anyone who saw him thought they saw an angel of death. Weapons bounced off him and he swiftly decapitated all opponents that came close to him. The unnatural glow he emitted only added to the effect.

As he was walking down the main street, he saw a fireball explode in the distance and he heard the screaming of burning trollocs. After a minute, Lan and Moraine came into view from behind a house. Lan looked as unnatural as Haplo, for his cloak was constantly changing in colour, all the time blending into the background. And he was as deadly as Haplo. The fluid-like motion of his sword resembled a dance rather than fighting. And Moraine was clearly using magic of some kind. All the enemies she hit with her staff burst into flames and sometimes she would wave her staff towards an opponent further away and that opponent would burst into flames as well. On her other hand she seemed to hold a small object of some kind.

Haplo merely saluted them with his bloody sword. No doubt they could see the glow he emitted, but Haplo would just have to deal with it later. The lives of the villagers came first. _Funny, _he thought, _a year ago I wouldn't have cared a damn about them, saying that they were just humans. But after my travels to the different worlds, after months of posing as a _mensch, _I've started to care about them. Naturally the damn worms had their part in it, since they feed on despair, fear, hate and oppression. Wonder what happened to that damn Alfred? Focus Haplo, no time for that now._

He decapitated another trolloc with almost no effort. Then he realized that there were perhaps twenty or more coming to rush him. _They're going to try and bury me with numbers. Let them come!_

Having anticipated their actions, Haplo easily devised a counter-plan. Temporarily discarding his sword, he crossed the backs of his hands. Speaking the names of different runes, they appeared in the air around his body. A total of ten symbols, which he then connected by drawing other, carefully selected runes between them. It took him no longer than perhaps ten heartbeats, from the beginning to the end, for him to be ready.

A few seconds later the mass of trollocs was attacking him. Haplo simply strengthened his spell by redrawing one of the runes in the air and again speaking its name. The trollocs couldn't come nearer than two feet before being repelled by an invisible barrier that sometimes seemed to flare into existence. Haplo allowed the trollocs a few more seconds to completely surround him before activating the second part of his spell.

When Haplo added a single symbol to the circle surrounding him, the runes burst into purple flames, scorching anything they touched. Haplo clapped his hands and the runes exploded outwards, burning all the surrounding trollocs to ashes. He then picked up his sword from the ground and looked around if any more trollocs remained. The itching on his body had eased so he wasn't too surprised when he saw none. But what he did saw surprised him.

Lan and Moraine, watching him like he was a rabid dog that had to be killed for the protection of everyone. Haplo decided to ignore their stares and focus on the essential. "So, any more of those creatures around?"

But Moraine would have none of that carefree attitude and answered from with her teeth clenched. "No, but I'm thinking that the greater evil is still very much alive and breathing." She left no room for interpretation of whom that greater evil was.

"So you have heard of my race. You managed to fool me with your ignorance back at the mayor's house, but now I see it wasn't the case."

"Your race? I must assume that the madness in you has a fairly strong grip. Please do not resist Haplo. Your connection to the True Source must and will be cut. If not by me, then by someone else. And believe me; you will prefer me over a dozen red sisters. You cannot outrun the Aes Sedai forever."

Upon finishing this sentence, Lan charged and Moraine launched some kind of dual attack of magic against him. One part of the attack came in the form of a fireball; the other was an attempt at some kind of mental control or attack that Haplo didn't recognize. It was mounting some kind of pressure to his mind but otherwise seemed harmless.

Thinking on his feet, Haplo decided to focus on neutralizing the unknown mental attack. His body could take care of the fireball and the sword, without problems he hoped. Shouting the names of multiple runes in quick succession, Haplo deflected the mental attack. Then the fireball connected. Haplo dropped his sword and used his hands to protect his head, expecting something a lot worse, but he was surprised how weak the attack was. It didn't manage to even weaken Haplo's defences, let alone hurt him. Then the sword hit him to his side, right between his fourth and fifth rib. _That _attack managed to hurt Haplo a little, about as much as the sting of a bee would hurt an adult human. Even the sword of Lan, fit for a king and enhanced by the Aes Sedai within the White Tower, bounced back from his skin.

Then Haplo had a chance to begin his attack. Not really wanting to hurt Lan or Moraine, for the last sentence Moraine had said made Haplo doubt. He wouldn't immediately kill them. It was quite likely that they thought him to be something else he was, perhaps something worse than a patryn. Haplo no longer wanted to kill without knowing fully who and why he was killing. This world was giving him too many surprises in such a short time.

So he used spells that would be lethal only potentially. Drawing two spells at the same time, he completely focused on the runes he was drawing. He couldn't afford a mistake here.

The first spell was designed to immobilize Lan. When Haplo completed the spell, the rune structure began multiplying, forming a glowing chain. The chain shot towards Lan and upon contact, encased him completely from ankles to his neck. Lan lost his balance and fell on his back. Haplo shouted a warning amidst his spellcasting.

"Don't fight it Lan! The more you fight it, the tighter the chain will get. It _will_ suffocate you, if you resist it enough!"

Before Haplo could finish his second spell, he was hit by another fireball. This time he felt some of the heat warm him up nicely, like he would have been close to campfire on a stormy night.

Haplo's second spell completed and he began thinking his next move. The spell had transferred him behind a corner of a house and left a replica of himself to draw gibberish runes in the air. The transition had been instantaneous, so Moraine could tell no difference between the replica and true Haplo.

While she was concentrating on attacking the illusion, Haplo subdued Moraine with his next spell. It covered Moraine in a skin-tight layer of steel. Her head was still free, but she could barely breathe due to the lack of space around her torso.

"Now Moraine, let us continue our discussion you so abruptly ended. I thought you had recognized me from my tattoos, but obviously I was wrong. I am a patryn. Does that say anything to you?"

Moraine shook her head. Haplo had flatly ignored the strongest fireball Moraine could hurl at him, even with the _angreal_; an artefact that magnified her power. Even the weaker one would have burned a Myrddraal, a shadowspawn that commanded trollcos, to cinders. She was intimidated and it showed. She didn't trust her voice to hold under these circumstances.

"No? Then know this. You have just experienced a fraction of my power. I am not insane. Nor am I a danger to anyone, unless I choose to be. Now explain, what is this True Source and why did you try to 'cut me' from it?"

Moraine was beginning to have second thoughts. Perhaps this man couldn't channel. Certainly that what he had done had been totally different from the magic she knew. And she sensed no madness from him, in fact he was rational, cool headed and, quite obviously, in control.

"The True Source is where all life stems from. _Saidin_, the male half, and _Saidar_, the feminine half, constantly work together and against each other to turn the great Wheel of Time. Those who touch it can Channel. All men who touch the Source will go mad sooner or later due to the taint the Dark Lord put in the male half. It has been so for hundreds of years. I thought you could Channel and thus it would be my duty to stop you before you would wreak absolute havoc. But you're using a completely different form of magic, aren't you?"

"Aye lady Moraine. I don't know what this Channeling is or how it's done, but I have my own form of magic, the magic of my race. If I release you and your protector, will you promise not to attack me?"

Moraine simply nodded. Not like she had any choice. Haplo drew backwards the runes he had used and dispelled the magic. The illusionary Haplo vanished. The chain holding Lan deteriorated and disappeared. The steel holding Moraine shattered and then turned to mud. Haplo looked both ways across the road and saw no one. He still hoped that Moraine and Lan were the only ones to see him use rune magic to anything besides deflecting the weapons of trollocs, but he wasn't too sure that was the case.

"Now, since there are no more trollocs around, we should try to see if the villagers need any help." Lan said, addressing his words to Moraine, but looking towards Haplo with distinctive mistrust.

"Agreed. Haplo, I assume that magic of yours can be used for healing? If you would be so kind as to help me with the possible wounded. I'm afraid the battle has exhausted my strength quite a bit."

"Naturally. No use hiding my magic any longer. Or at least the fact that I have some abilities. They've seen something, but I doubt they know what. I would like to keep it that way."

Moraine nodded in understanding and agreement. She alone would have to calm down the villagers as it was. They certainly had seen her Channel. They knew her to be an Aes Sedai. No use frightening them any more. Moraine cleared his throat and pointed towards the sword Haplo had used.

"How are you going to explain that? That sword was a rusty lump of steel before you got it, not to mention those markings you quite obviously have drawn to it."

Haplo merely smiled when he picked up the sword. "I won't have to." Haplo swiped his hand over the sword and the three runes vanished. The sword was again blunt, rusty and dented. The three of them began walking back towards the centre of the village, where houses were still burning.


	3. Repaying a debt

**Chapter 3: Repaying a debt**

Moraine was frowning. Outside she looked almost as calm and controlled as always, but inside she was seething. The one she had been searching for was now narrowed to three possibilities. But somehow the forces of the Dark One also knew. Trollocs had come to Emond's Field and had tried to kill all three. That was only one of her problems. Second was how they had managed to get all the way to Two Rivers and close enough to Emond's Field without alerting anyone. And there had even been a Myrddraal with them, though she had not been able to kill it during the fight. It had fled as soon as Moraine and Lan went after it. A wise move from its part as a fade would have serious trouble fighting an Aes Sedai and her Warder.

And then there was Haplo. Moraine liked to be in control, and so she had been, until this evening. What few strands she still held were now jumbled together by the appearance of Haplo and his abilities. He didn't Channel, of that Moraine was certain. His abilities were too different and too powerful. Without the aid of a powerful _angreal_ probably only the forsaken ones could have done something Haplo did. And the forsaken ones, strongest Aes Sedai from the Age of Legends, were still shackled at Shayol Ghul along with their master. _Light, they must be. If not, then we're all doomed _she thought.

_So what does that make Haplo? A creature of the Dark or of the Light? Or neither? Who does he serve? Where does he draw his power from? How does his power work? What are his weak points? What is the true purpose of his tattoos; are they his power or its physical representation, a channel for the power to work trough or just a distraction? What are his motives for being here? He can't be here by accident, not with that power of his and the appearance of trollocs. Light, no ancient text I've heard about has ever even mentioned anyone or anything even closely resembling Haplo. I need to know more. If I can get him to come to the White Tower at Tar Valon…_

Moraine, Lan and Haplo arrived back at the Mayor's house. All in all, the damage to the village was not bad and buildings could be rebuilt. But the damage to the people was more severe. Those who had not suffered physical trauma were showing reactions of disbelief, shock, anger and fear. Admittedly they had a good reason as creatures they regarded as myth had just tried to ransack their village. But strangely, all the looks were directed at Moraine. No one would even glance at Haplo.

_Of course. They might not know what Haplo did. They just blame everything strange that has happened this night on the most likely source, at least from their point of view. The Aes Sedai, me. For them I'm something akin to the forsaken ones. A myth, the stuff of legends. Peasant fools. Though at the moment dangerous fools. They could easily ruin my plans for those three… not even counting my plans for the girl they call Wisdom…_

The mayor was with the group, though he seemed a bit unwilling to do whatever the people had set out to do. It was he who began speaking.

"Lady Moraine, or perhaps I should call you Moraine Sedai, please try to understand. Your presence…" he didn't have time to finish his sentence, as the people around him began shouting.

"Go away!" and "You brought the trollocs here!" could be heard.

But Bran al'Vere took none of it. "Coplin, shut up! I'm the mayor! I'll handle this. Moraine Sedai, as I said, please try to understand. The appearance of trollocs is enough to cause great concern. After all, none around these parts have ever heard even rumors that trollocs are nothing but a bed-time story. And you being revealed as an Aes Sedai is only adding to the tension. I'm afraid that…" This time it was Moraine who interrupted him.

"Master al'Vere, I appreciate your wishes and concerns. However, you would be a fool to think that I brought these minions of darkness here. That's what you all are thinking, right? Don't worry; I'll leave as soon as my task here is done. Meanwhile, I believe there are wounded waiting for attention. They are at your house, mayor?"

She didn't wait for a response. She simply walked away, apparently dismissing the entire crowd. Of course, Lan walking right behind him with catlike grace, relaxed but full of unspoken threat, gave more than enough weight for her words. Haplo decided against following her in at this time. After all, the people already connected him to the Aes Sedai on some level and Haplo didn't want that kind of attention.

Unfortunately for him, he still received it. Suspicious glances were being directed at him. The people were most likely trying to figure out his relationship to this 'Aes Sedai', as they seemed to be calling female magicians around here.

He simply responded to the glares directed at him and some men seemed to be frightened of this. But in the end, for Haplo it made little difference. He decided to make a tactical withdrawal and while the mob was discussing and arguing amongst them, he went after Moraine. At the moment she was the only relative safe harbor for him. Haplo thought this unfortunate.

He quickly found the room Moraine was in. It was easily recognizable by the amount of whining coming from inside. A quick glance around made it clear to Haplo that none had suffered anything fatal. At least with Moraine around. _Assuming she's a better healer than fighter. I wish Alfred was here, he could even resurrect people. Not like he _would _do it after the business with Hugh the Hand, but he could. Well, got to make the best with what we have._

Moraine indeed was a better healer. She was just finishing with a boy who had a broken leg. The boy simply walked out, saying something about being hungry. Discreetly, Haplo did what he could for those who were unconscious or currently under Moraine's healing. Using what little knowledge he had of sartan version of rune magic, he healed minor wounds and cuts. The patryns had lost a lot of their abilities to heal the wounds of others during their generations' long imprisonment in the Labyrinth. Their primary healing method could heal themselves or others to near perfect health in just moments, but regardless if they were suffering from simple bruises or multiple organ failure with severe blood loss it would take a lot of energy from the healer. And that meant uninterrupted rest, sometimes even for a full day.

It continued for a while. When Moraine took a little breather, Haplo went outside. There he saw Lan issuing command to build fires. Apparently he wanted to burn the trollocs. Haplo didn't want to use his magic in plain view of the villagers. During the battle he hadn't cared, but back then he hadn't known the reaction these people had to magic. Fortunately almost everything strange that had happened was being accounted to Moraine. Haplo had gotten off this hook with pure luck.

But Haplo made a silent wow. He never should have been on the hook. He would have to be more careful around those not already used to his abilities. So instead of releasing the ancient magic of his people, he just used his muscles, carrying wood and trolloc bodies with the villagers.

At first unfriendly and straight hostile looks were directed towards him, but after a while, his help was accepted. This village had seen its part of difficulties and the people of Emond's Field had learned that unity was the key to survival. So any help, even from a stranger, was accepted.

Later, when the fires had already been burning for a few hours, he tried to dose off for a moment. He watched with slight envy as Lan just kept going on. He had gotten even less sleep before the attack and he was still up and about without even the hint of tiredness showing of off him. _That can't be natural_ Haplo though as he dozed off, leaning against a tree.

He woke up several times during the night, a bit weary but battle ready. When he saw and felt no threat nearby, he drifted into sleep once more. One who has lived most of his life inside the Labyrinth does not sleep deeply. Inside the Labyrinth there was no safety, only varying levels and types of danger and all of them deadly. Even for the patryns, or in some rarer cases especially for the patryns. The creatures, trollocs they had been called, had reminded Haplo of the horrors of the place that would by definition be called his home, his birthing place, his prison. Along with who knows how many patryns and as he had recently found out, rebellious sartans.

By the time he had woken up for the sixth time, it was already morning. Unconsciously he checked what had awakened him while he began to silently stretch his muscles. Upon turning his head he saw a familiar looking boy carrying a person on his back, talking to the village blacksmith. He couldn't see the boy's face, but his stance showed him to be dead tired.

Haplo decided to follow them just in case they needed him. It's not like he had anything better to do and being seen as a helping hand could only improve the local's attitude towards him. He didn't remember the boy's name right away, but he did remember that he had been with the man who had brought Haplo to Emond's Field. If the boy or his farther had been injured, he wanted to make sure they would survive, with or without his help. For _mensch_ they were good people and had won Haplo's respect.

He was a bit surprised when the village Wisdom had left the poor boy's father untreated. I couldn't be that bad could it? From what he could glimpse, the wound seemed a minor thing. But when the boy, Rand he was called, made his way alone towards the inn looking dead tired and still carrying his father, Haplo could watch no more.

"Hey lad! Rand was it? Can I help you?"

The boy clumsily turned around to see Haplo.

"Sure." His voice was filled with hopelessness and tiredness, but there was also a hint of determination. "I must get to the mayor. He'll know how to help father. Somehow…"

Haplo said nothing as he helped Rand to carry his father.

Once at the inn, he quickly found himself beside a bed with the mayor, Rand and some strange looking man wearing a bright multicolored and patched cloak. The man didn't seem dangerous at the moment, though something in his stance suggested he could take care of himself if need be. And Haplo remembered this man had killed a few trollocs by throwing daggers the last night. But Haplo had no time to think about it. Tam al'Thor, the man who had helped him and speeded up his recovery quite a bit was clearly dying. Haplo opted to say nothing when Rand pondered with the other two men on what to do. But when Rand had left for the Aes Sedai dragging his feet, he saw Tam take a pained breath before his breathing became erratic. Haplo decided to act. He had seen dying people many times and Tam was showing all the signs.

His body had used all of its strength to survive the night and Tam was clearly living his last moments. _He might last for half an hour or half a minute_, _but without serious help he _will_ die soon._

Haplo spoke up. "Mayor sir, if you wouldn't mind stepping out of the room for a while?"

Both the mayor and the bright cloaked man became instantly suspicious.

"Why? What do you plan to do?" asked the mayor

"Something you might not want to watch. Something I don't want you to watch. But it's something that might save this man's life."

"Not going to happen, master Haplo. Last night left us with some unanswered questions. No offense intended, but I'm not leaving you alone with a dying man." responded the mayor promptly.

Tam's breathing was becoming even shallower. He was on the verge of death; his body had almost given up. Only thing keeping him alive was his will, his stubbornness to keep on living. Haplo saw he would have to act this very instant.

"Fine then, but don't interrupt me. If you want to beat me, do it afterwards."

Not waiting for an answer, he sat next to the bed. He uncovered Tam's hands and rolled up his own sleeves. Then he drew replicas of the runes covering his own arms to his patient's hands. They would strengthen the circle he was about to form. He placed his own palms on top of Tam's ones and began chanting runes aloud. Soft glow began to surround him and Tam like a nimbus as his runes activated. The ethereal circle of rune magic was forming. Power and life were flowing from Haplo to Tam and the poison or taint along with pain within Tam flowed to Haplo. At first Haplo was a bit startled to find such pure evil inside Tam, but he was committed. He could only hope that his own magic would be able to neutralize it. Then he was plunged into darkness as their minds joined, the circle completing itself.

**xXxXx**

"Men, the Aiel are coming. We all know this as it's the precise reason were standing here. They have rampaged their way all the way from the desert to here, the gates of Tar Valon."

"They are fierce fighters, true. Their women fight with them and are at least as deadly as the men. True once more. A single bloody unarmed Aiel can take down five swordsmen and if you give him or her, a weapon… Light, I wouldn't want to face one of them." The man paced a few steps before continuing with his speech.

"But face them we must! For they have reached the city of Tar Valon. And they must be stopped! We are the only sizable force left that has any chance of doing what hasn't been done before: Defeat the Aiel! And if we fail, they'll be able rampage on the streets of Tar Valon itself. And I know that many of you would like to see the 'Aes Sedai witches' get some of their own medicine, but the city is also filled with women and children who did not flee. Should the Aiel breach the walls, they would certainly be slaughtered. We cannot let this happen!"

"And think of what would happen to our home, Caemlyn! If we, the loyal soldiers of the Queen of Andor, are already here and fail to do our task, who is going to defend our home should the Aiel decide to continue south after burning Tar Valon?! No one!"

"So fear the enemy, for they have earned your fear! But draw strength from that fear and strike them down! For they have deserved that also!"

The speech of the general raised cheers from the men. The peasants that had been quickly drafted seemed inspired and cheered the loudest. The veteran soldiers and the elite units were quieter. They knew what was to come. Tam al'Thor, part of the 3rd Queens Elite Swordsmen, did not cheer. He had nothing against these Aiel, the nomads of the desert. But they had decided to invade and he would have none of it, no matter that they had been insulted in the worst possible way. No matter, even if the sapling of the Tree of Life, their great present and symbol of peace to the king of Cairhien, had been cut down. A hundred years of peace, ended by the King Laman and his pride.

He had fought many times, but never against Aiel. Even though snow covered the land and they were still waiting for the Aiel to crescent the small hill in front of them, he was sweating, agitated and afraid. His thoughts returned to his young and beautiful wife Kari, waiting for him inside the walls of Tar Valon. _This battle, then no more. My duty will be done and my tour will be over. Lord, how I used to dream of adventure and great battles outside of Two Rivers as a child. But now I know what it's truly like. I have seen death up close. It's not pretty. Never again shall I fight another man._

_When this battle is finished, I'll do something simple with my life. Perhaps become a sheepherder and have a family. Yes, that sounds nice and quiet. Peaceful living with no need for a sword. If I survive… Light, allow me to survive. For Kari._ He heard the yell of the Aiel as they approached, looking like death itself in their black veils and long spears. He drew his heron-marked sword, the symbol of a swordmaster, and waited for the command to charge.

**xXxXx**

"Boy, who did this to us? Who murdered your parents?" The man asked continuously as he continued to beat the child in front of him using a strap of leather as a whip. Just like he himself had been whipped as a child. And judging from the red welts on the child's back this particular beating had been going on for a while.

Strike. A new red long mark dripping blood appeared on the child's back.

"The sartans!"

Another strike.

"And who killed the woman who cared for you for the past Gate?"

"The dragon!"

Strike. Strike.

"Wrong! It was the sartans! Say it, boy!"

"The sartans kill her!"

Strike.

"Correct! It was the sartans! For they put us here with the dragon! Now tell me, who is their leader?"

"Samah!"

Strike.

"Good! And because of whom are you receiving this beating?" The man asked in the same angry yet monotonous voice.

"Myself, because I didn't manage to find her in time!"

Strike. Strike.

"Wrong! Who put us here so that you had to try to find her in the first place?!"

"The sartans! The bloody sartans and their leader Samah, may his name forever be cursed!"

The man stopped whipping the boy, whom had not shed a single tear during the beating. If he had had, the whipping would have continued until the tears were no longer visible. Or until the boy would have died, whichever came first. Here, in the Labyrinth, there was no room for love, compassion or fear; only for hate against those who imprisoned them, and for survival instinct in order to escape and kill them.

"Good, boy. Always remember the pain and the hatred. Draw strength from them and survive. Now put on your shirt Haplo, and heal yourself."

They boy called Haplo simply nodded. He picked up his simple leather shirt from the ground, put it on and proceeded to cross his arms in front of him. A soft glow emanated from him as the runes tattooed to his arms began to glow when he whispered the runes of healing.

The man simply nodded before saying "Tomorrow night you may add another rune of your choosing to your arms. You have survived long enough among us to have earned it. But for now, recite to me the runes associated with speed."

The boy silently complied, forming single runes in the air with his hands, naming them and their purpose. His back still hurt from the beating, for he was not allowed to heal himself completely, but the marks themselves were gone. The pain would teach him, everyone said.

He hated the pain.

The pain would make him stronger, they said. And for as long as he remembered, he had indeed continuously improved, among the other few children that lived in this small nomad village. He had gotten faster and stronger; physically, mentally and magically.

But he hated the pain.

He hated the hate the pain caused.

He didn't want to hate.

He had said that aloud once and received another beating. He shouldn't hate the pain or the hate, they said, but the ones who were causing it. Once, long ago, he had though the elders, his foster parents and others who beat him were the cause of the pain, the root of hate.

But beatings and the teachings later on had changed that.

He now knew the true reason behind his miserable existence, the shadow of a life composed of constant running, hiding, and beatings and fighting and killing. The root of all his problems… was the sartans, the hated ancient enemy, who were outside living like gods among the weak humans, dwarves and elves; among the _mensch._ Without the sartans the patryns wouldn't be in the Labyrinth and thus there would be no reason for his foster parents to beat him, to make him stronger.

He wanted to be the first one to escape and kill them all with his bare hands and laugh at their despairing faces. But for that he would have to live, to endure the pain, to scream defiance to the Labyrinth every time it would try to kill him with its traps and monsters. He would need to run. But he knew he wasn't ready yet. Not strong enough to live on his own.

A small smile appeared on his lips in distant anticipation.

He would make the bastards pay for everything they had done to him.

They would pay for the beatings, the pain, the misery they had caused. They wouldn't die because they had condemned tens of generations of patryns to suffering, but because they had made _his_ life miserable. They would pay for the hate he constantly felt, by dying and giving him the satisfaction of watching them draw their last breath.

This fantasy gave him hope that one day he would be free from this all-consuming hate.

Feeling hope meant he was not yet ready. He would have to crush that hope he felt. For within the Labyrinth hope existed only to be taken away. Feeling hope gave the Labyrinth a new weapon to break and kill you with. In essence hope, along with love and contentment, were weaknesses to rid one off of.

He would squash his hopes. He would feel no love and he would not give in to fear and despair. He would merely feel determination; he would feel hate and he would survive. He would run across the wastelands of the Labyrinth and reach the final Gate. He would escape. And he would make the sartans pay. This he promised to himself.

And a seven year old boy always keeps his promises.

**xXxXx**

For a moment Haplo didn't know where he was, on the slopes of a mountain called the Dragonmount looking at a baby, back at the Labyrinth receiving a beating, fighting against the dragon snakes inside the Deathgate or at a small room at some backwater village. Reality quickly asserted itself. Weakness from sharing his life-force was almost overwhelming and the taint was still inside his body.

Someone grabbed his shoulder, or tried to, as Haplo wasn't consciously suppressing his protective magic. Whoever had tried to touch him was forcefully thrown back against a wall in the small room. He turned his head and saw a stunned Lan getting up from the floor, along with Rand and Moraine staring at him.

And Haplo was still filled with hatred from the memories he had experienced, not to mention he felt like a drunken sailor. The room was almost spinning in his eyes.

"What do you want Lan? Or perhaps I should be asking Moraine that question since she's the master and you're the leashed hound. Can't it wait for a few moments? I'm still not quite finished." he snapped.

Moraine sighted. "Finished with what, Haplo? I saw you earlier do some minor healing to others, but I didn't know you could heal people so close to dying. And how did you heal him anyway? You seemed to get progressively worse as he got better."

"The only way I know. If you want to find out, figure it yourself. It shouldn't be that hard."

"I might have been able to save him myself, you know. I'm tired, but not that tired." Moraine said with steel in her voice. Apparently she didn't like to be denied.

"Well excuse me for beating you to it, but I didn't know how much longer he'd live. So I acted. He's healed. Is there a problem?"

Moraine sighed again. "Yes, but it's not one that should be discussed in public." she said with a slightly deflated voice.

Moraine then gave a pointed look to the mayor, the blacksmith, the gleeman in the bright cloak and Rand, before turning her piercing eyes back to Haplo. "We shall discuss some other time. He's healed, that's all that matters for now. But are _you_ okay? You seem pale."

"I'll be fine as soon as I purge this strange taint I acquired from him. It seems that whatever struck him was no ordinary weapon." Haplo said as he tried to get a grip of himself and concentrate.

"The weapons used by the servants of the Dark One are forged at a tainted place. During their forging some weapons suck that taint like sponges, taking parts of it with them. If you need help…"

"I don't. Just stay back." Haplo said as he finally managed ignore the stomach-turning taint and the tiredness he felt.

Haplo once more crossed his arms and again whispered the runes of healing. Once the light around him faded he again he collapsed on the floor from exhaustion, but he was back in full health. All he needed was rest.


	4. Journey begins

A/N: Reposted earlier chapters, with all of the inconsistencies and grammatical errors fixed (at least, those I could find) Here however is a brand new chapter after such a hiatus.

**Chapter 3: Journey begins**

Haplo opened his eyes but couldn't focus on anything. His last memories before his collapse to a yet another healing sleep after purging the taint were a bit fussy. He remembered sharing his energy with the man he had barely even met, saving the man's life. He also remembered arguing with someone… Ah yes, the Lady Moiraine. Things were starting to make sense. Yet he couldn't help but wonder why he clearly remembered being a swordsman in some queen's army…

He most certainly couldn't have been, but the memories were there. Then it hit him. He remembered foreign memories from the formation of the healing circle with the man, Tam. He could count the times he had done something like this with a non-patryn with one hand. Naturally the memories would differ so much from his own as to mess him up a bit. It would take a while to truly get rid of those. But no matter, now that his own mind was making sense again, it was time to pay attention to the things around him. He was lying on some kind of wooden floor and in front of him was a bed. He saw the sun setting from the lone window on the wall opposite him. He had slept the day away. But why wasn't he lying on the bed?

He soon found the answer when he saw the bed was occupied by Tam al'Thor. Tam and his son Rand were quite obviously discussing something heatedly yet with hushed voices. Apparently they hadn't meant to wake Haplo up. But either they had or Haplo had simply had enough of resting. He was awake now. And the discussion held a few feet away from him had something to do with Tam not sharing his past with Rand. Or rather, Rand having to find out his 'father' had found the baby Rand after some battle against the Aiel and adopted him.

Abruptly they stopped, for Tam was looking straight at him. Considering Tam had been close to dying this morning he looked remarkably healthy. But receiving healing that will instantly correct almost anything short of death can do that. Both Tam and Rand were studying him. Rand look at him a bit suspiciously bit was also clearly grateful. Tam on the other hand clearly didn't know what to think. The particular memory Tam had received of Haplo as a child might have thrown him into a loop and added with Tam's natural suspicion they were a strong bunch of emotions. They were balanced with gratefulness of Haplo healing him. And if Rand had told him anything it was clear that Haplo and the Aes Sedai Moiraine were not working together. Haplo had been here for only a day or so but already he heard a lot of how ordinary men tended to react to Aes Sedai: At worst with outright hostility, at best with careful and suspicious respectfulness.

Not waiting to hear whatever conclusion they had arrived to, Haplo excused himself and left the room. He was feeling a bit hungry and wanted to give the father and son some time alone to finish their discussion. The practicality and common sense present in almost all of the village's inhabitants had bought his respect. The way they responded to unexpected danger was almost what Patryn would have done in the Labyrinth: Fight to survive and afterwards, roll up your sleeves and get to work.

**xXxXx**

Haplo was downstairs at the inn, eating the dinner provided by the mayor's wife. He was just finishing his last slice of bread with the remains of broth when Lan came in, clearly in a hurry, with a young man in tow.

"Get ready to leave immediately Haplo. There's trouble and you might want to come with us." Lan said before running up the stairs, presumably to get Rand. Haplo simply stood up, studying the youngster. He was quite tall and had brown eyes. He didn't have a muscled frame; in fact it was quite wiry. He was fully clothed and even had a cloak, and carried a quiver filled with arrows on his waist.

As the youth was not talking, Haplo decided to introduce himself and maybe get a name as well.

"I'm Haplo." he said in a stating manner. "And you are?"

The boy was a bit startled. He had clearly been thinking about something quite deeply before Haplo had given him the proverbial wake-up call.

"I'm Mat, Mat Cauthon. Aren't you the guy Rand and his father brought here, looking half dead? Wow, Moiraine, uhh I mean Moiraine Sedai must have healed you! I mean, otherwise you wouldn't be up and about. Hey, I heard you managed to chop off some trolloc heads last night?"

Apparently the lad was quite talkative. He also appeared nervous. _Not a good combination_, Haplo thought. _People who tend to talk when they are nervous are used to making the cause of nervousness go away by talking. This kid is probably a troublemaker, a prankster at best; one who's gotten caught quite a lot of times. Better keep an eye on him._

Haplo had no time to respond to the rapid babbling of the young man as Lan and Rand came down the stairs. Haplo noted with interest that Rand was wearing a sword belt.

Haplo quickly donned the brown robes he had conjured up earlier, getting ready to leave. Indeed, he had decided to go with Moiraine and Lan. He would not find his answers of how he got here and how, or even if, he could go back.

Assuming he wanted it. So far, this world seemed quite good, as there were no great sentient evil living from fear of others plotting to take over the world, no sartans, no Deathgate, no Labyrith. This place seemed to lack everything he disliked in his life.

But whatever he later decided, he would still need information, something not readily available in this little village.

He watched with curiosity the gathering outside. The people had almost tried to throw Moiraine out by force, something that he would have loved to see, before the small mob was cowed into submission by the mayor and the village blacksmith. He also listened with rapt interest to the story Moiraine told of the ancient Manetherendrelle and the nation of Manetheren. Apparently there was some great history of standing up to someone called the Dark One around these parts. He was also impressed by the way Moiraine weaved the crowd around her fingers, making them hang on her every word. Haplo could not tell if it was simply the story or if Moiraine had used some kind of mild mind magic to make them listen. But it was impressive nonetheless.

The impromptu history lesson ended soon. With a simple story Moiraine had managed to calm and disperse the crowd. That woman… The way she held herself had earlier made Haplo think she was used to getting what she wanted. Now he knew how she got what she wanted: She persuaded, she threatened, she flattered if need be. She could probably mangle words beyond recognition, so that others heard what they wanted to hear. But 'why' was the question. She obliviously belonged to a group of people regarded with awe, worship, suspicion and fear. Why had they gotten that stigma? It could not simply be because of magic, Haplo had seen many instances where magicians were regarded as nobility, where wizardry was simply another occupation.

He would need to know more. And until he had the knowledge, he would act as he always did: By staying in the background, by observing the situation and acting only if necessary.

But if he was going with Rand and this other boy, Mat, then he might have to look out for them. They were clearly not used to people lying to them or trying to take advantage of them. But they would learn, or they would quite likely die. Haplo would simply make sure the last option didn't happen, perhaps by making sure they did learn. He would just have to wait and see how things developed.

They left the inn through a door at the back, coming out to the inn stable yard.

Haplo almost immediately spotted the yet another young man sitting against the stall door. And the man was armed. But Lan made no move to protect himself. Therefore the presence of this man was expected. Apparently Mat and Rand didn't see him until he rose up.

"Did you look the way I told you, blacksmith?" the Warder quickly asked the young, well muscled man with curly hair.

"Of course. Why would anyone try to hide…" His words trailed off as his eyes fell upon Haplo. A quick glance from him to the other young men, and a small nod from Rand later, the young blacksmith, or his apprentice based on his age, relaxed once more. But Haplo couldn't help but look pointedly at the weapon hidden under his cloak. The form reminded him of something he had seen in passing on Abarrach, the realm of stone… Haplo quickly realized he was looking at a man armed with a war-axe. It could do quite nasty wounds even if wielded by inexperienced but strong hands. And strength of arms the young man clearly had.

By the time he finished his musings, Lan was already checking up on their mounts. Apparently they would be riding horses. Though Haplo had never done that before, he was confident he could do it. He had ridden a dragon after all, among many other beasts. Haplo had also learned the name of the axe-wielding youngster: Perrin.

Perrin apparently also spotted the sword belt Rand was wearing and they began to jester about it.

"Yeah, it's like the honest man's weapon is not good enough for him" sad Mat while brandishing his bow.

Rand simply shrugged, showing some sensibility in Haplo's mind by not going into this 'look at my weapon' game. "It might be useful. Besides, father said I'd have more use for it than he would."

Only now did they notice the bulge under Perrin's cloak. Before they could say anything, Haplo asked them "If a bow is the weapon for an honest man and a sword is not, then what does it make of someone wielding a war-axe, hmm?"

The three boys whirled around. Before they could say anything, Perrin removed the axe from underneath his cloak. It had a half-moon like blade, with a mean looking spike acting as a balance on the opposite side of the wooden shaft. Perrin then asked in a quiet voice "How did you know?"

"It was not as well hidden as you thought. And I have seen some of those before." Haplo responded.

Mat was confirming Haplo's opinion of him as a troublemaker and a boy who had not grown up even after what had happened the previous night when he said "Cool!" and began to inspect the weapon with a boyish grin.

"I don't think it's cool. Well, only a little. But when master Luhhan found me practicing with it, he said I could keep it. He said he has no need for it." Perrin said.

"Yeah, it's all good and well. Might as well have someone else besides Lan who has an inkling of how to use a real weapon." said Rand, voicing his thoughts.

Lan was about to say something, but Haplo beat him to it. "A real weapon? Boys, those bows of yours are real weapons. So are that sword and that axe. By the stinky Sartans breath, if you pick up a stick from the road and wield it with the proper mindset, it _becomes_ a real weapon. Literally anything can be used to kill. A stick, a stone, a piece of rope, your own clothes, your fists…. The list goes on forever. All you need is the will to see your opponent _dead_ and the mindset to focus that will, focus it into using whatever you have on hand to that end. Everything else is secondary."

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Lan spoke his mind, his face still set in that stony frown. "Haplo is correct. Your mind is the greatest weapon. If you really want or need your opponent dead, your mind makes anything and everything into a weapon. A large stone hitting your head is just as deadly as an arrow through the heart or a sword piercing your lungs. You better keep that in mind if you wish to live long enough to reach Tar Valon." Then Lan went back to checking their horses and equipment.

That seemed to instantly kill the mood. Until Mat said with false cheeriness in his voice "Well, this certainly looks like the beginning for a great story. I mean, An Aes Sedai, a Warder, a merchant guard," here he glanced at Haplo "three farm boys running into the night, with a horde of trollocs, lead by a fade, after us."

"Do you believe her Rand?" asked Perrin. "Do you believe her when she says they are after us three specifically?"

Rand sighted before responding. "Yeah. She was right about our farms being the only ones torched. The mayor also confirmed that the forge and Master Luhhan's house were the first ones attacked here in the village. It's easy to believe she's right about this. And my dad… We had a long talk today. He said that an Aes Sedai never lies. He said that the truth an Aes Sedai tells might not be the truth you actually heard or wish to hear, but that it is truth nonetheless. They cannot outright lie due to some oaths taken with…you know… the One Power." Rand shuddered, as if even the thought of such power was somehow damning.

Mat looked incredulous. "You asked the mayor? And you dad? She told us not to tell anybody!"

Rand was suddenly looking quite angry. "He's my dad! He has the right to know." Rand saw Haplo looking at him quite intently. He had seen that look many times from his dad. It said 'we _will_ talk later'. Rand was about to continue, but his throat suddenly constricted. _Did he hear? That Tam is my father only because he found and raised me, not because I'm his son? Light, I must get these thoughts out of my head. Tam _is _my father, even if I'm not of his blood._

Perrin took the conversation from there. "Relax Rand. We just left some notes for our parents. They'll find them in the morning."

Whatever was about to be said next was left unsaid, as Moiraine appeared in the doorway.

"Talked to your father about the journey did you?" She was clothed in dark gray, with her skirt divided for riding astride. Her ring, depicting a great serpent eating its own tail was the only gold item she now wore. "No matter," she continued "what has been done is already part of the Pattern. Lan?"

Lan emerged from the stables. "Everything is ready. And we got enough provisions to reach Baerlon. We can leave when you are ready. Though I would suggest we go now."

As they were about to mount their horses, Haplo looking at others from the side of his eyes for examples, another interruption came forth. A girl, carrying a package wrapped in a shawl, wearing a dark brown cloak. "You're not leaving without me!" She said.

"Egwene!" shouted Rand, clearly not believing his eyes.

Lan had turned towards the incomer, his sword drawn. Though when he saw who it was, he grunted and sheathed his blade. "Figures," he said "that half of the village will want to come with us. Whatever you decide Moiraine, better do it quick. Night is wasting away."

Moiraine merely tapped her lips with her finger. Mat suddenly spoke up "Egwene, you can't come with us. This isn't a picnic to Waterwood. The trollocs-"

"Oh do shut up Mat. This might be my last chance ever to get to see the world outside of Two Rivers. Leave your fairytales out of this. Seeing you and Perrin looking like a pair of bulls trying to be sneaky like foxes and hearing about Lan buying at least one horse sparked my attention. Besides, it's not like it's your decision anyway."

"Enough." commanded Moiraine. "Did anyone else notice all of this? Did anyone see _you_?"

"With all of their focus on rebuilding, no." Egwene said haughtily.

Moiraine sighed. "Fine, come with us then. But hurry, for we are leaving. Take the gleeman's horse. Lan, leave some money behind for him to buy another in the morning."

Yet another voice, this one clearly a male but with a musical resonance to it interrupted them. "I'm afraid that is not possible, for I, Thom Merrilin, gleeman extraordinaire, will be coming with you. I've never performed in Tar Valon and this village has no use for me now. And for a dangerous road, what better company aside from a Warder, an Aes Sedai and a lost merchant's guard could there be?"

Lan merely commented to Moiraine "Is this part of the pattern as well, Moiraine Sedai, like you think that spoiled girl to be?"

Moiraine's reply was curt "Everything is part of the Pattern, Lan. We can't pick and choose. But we shall see. But now we shall need a horse for the girl. Not the ones of the peddler, they are worse than Dhurran ones."

"Bela." said Rand, though the look the Warder gave him made him wish he hadn't said anything. Yet he continued "I ride her sometimes. Might not be as fast as the others, but she's strong. She can keep up."

"Hmm. Might be a bit better than others." said Moiraine in a contemplative voice, looking at the horse in the stalls. "Find her a saddle and we can _finally_ be off. We have tarried far too long."

Haplo watched from aside as Rand saddled the horse and helped Egwene to the saddle. They exchanged some words, but Haplo was more concerned over seeing every tidbit of information he could about the horses. He had a feeling they would be using horses for a long time and the sooner he could claim decent proficiency in taking care of them and riding them the better. It would also help him come up with a new identity when they would reach a city.

Haplo's horse was a male one, he had checked earlier, and it was brown. That was about it as far as he could tell.

And then they were off. At first they were going slowly, trying to get out of the village without being seen. Haplo had no trouble following them at this pace, but he had to concentrate on riding. Pretty soon they passed the last farmhouses, having only stopped to avoid some of the village patrols. It would do them no good if they could be followed by interrogating the villagers.

But soon after Haplo began to feel a familiar itch. His magic was reacting once again. Something, not too near, meant them harm. Nothing too powerful either, but right now I might be enough to force him reveal his secrets to the others and reveal more to Moiraine and Lan. He did notice Rand stopping, staring into the sky. He also looked up and then he saw it himself. A giant flying creature, reminding him of a small dragon with its leathery body was just disappearing behind the tree line. Lan rode to them and asked them "Why did you stop?"

It was Rand who answered. "Up there. I… We saw something. Like a bat, but much, much larger. Its body must have been as large as a full-grown man…"

Lan face became even more stony. "A Draghkar." he said to them all. The farm boys and the girl seemed puzzled whereas the gleeman, Thom, simply groaned. He obviously knew something. Lan continued "We must move. Now. We might still make it to the ferry before the Halfman and its trollocs. Stay close to me and by the Light keep up." He then began to ride hard on his horse, this time to a slightly different direction. Haplo had to use all his concentration to stay on the unfamiliar saddle at this pace and keep his horse running. From his side, he heard Egwene ask "What is a Draghkar?"

It was Thom Merrilin who answered. "At the end of the Age of Legends, there was a great war and the Breaking of the world. During those times worse than just trollocs and myrddraal were created. Some things a lot worse."

**xXxXx**

They were riding on a line, keeping a distance of merely few meters between them as they sped onwards. Lan was leading the way, but Haplo was riding at the middle of the impromptu formation. His thoughts were running all over the place. _Worse than Trollocs, those beastmen I fought before... He said it nicely, evoking fear with those words, yet giving us absolutely no information. What are its/her/his abilities, strengths or weaknesses? Or are those even known? What is the best way to kill one? But no, all he gave us was the approximate time they were created. Oh well, when in doubt, decapitate. That usually works. _Haplo was also thinking that their horses would begin to tire soon. If he didn't know better, he'd say that Lan was trying to push them into a situation were he would be forced to use his magic or take the risk of at least one of them dying.

But he actually didn't know better. Lan remained a mystery, his internal logic hidden behind layers and layers of military training, obedience and mental steel. And Moiraine was no easier to read beyond the obvious. Every emotion, every frown or differentiation in the tone of voice were tightly controlled and she seemed to consciously 'slip' every now and then, making it hard to see if the perceived reaction to something was genuine or not. All he had to work with were the assumptions that they didn't want anyone dead and that they didn't know enough about him to risk possible death just to examine his abilities.

In essence, Haplo would have to trust them.

And for a Patryn, even or should it be especially, after all he had seen, trust did not come easily.

Then something happened. His magic reacted violently and Haplo lurched in the saddle, barely keeping upright. His magic was simultaneously becoming weaker and yet stronger. It was as if the possibilities of the world were changing, or forced to change in his immediate vicinity. Like the very structure of the world was changing on a fundamental level. The he felt it, a small tug on his name-rune tattooed right on top of his heart. It felt as if something was trying to force him to adapt, to change or move in a predetermined way. For a fleeting moment, he felt like a small pebble in a stream, suddenly caught up in a strong current. For a fleeting moment he had no magic what so ever. There was only a single possibility in existence and it couldn't be swayed, changed or manipulated. To Haplo it felt like the world had just collapsed or as if he had lost his sight, touch and hearing all at once.

And then it was over. World seemed stable once more, the only trace of whatever had happened was his memory of it. Yet he could tell that something momentous had just happened.

Haplo could tell that his magic had tried resisting it, whatever it had been. But successfully or not was still left to be seen. The entire experience was baffling and the torrent of pure reality that had affected him was frightening. His magic was back to normal and he felt no danger in the immediate vicinity. He would need to think on this heavily once they had more time. For now though he would have to concentrate on riding once more and ignoring that small sore spot that was developing on his behind. Haplo knew he would be sore all over once this was over.

Haplo couldn't tell how long exactly they had ridden, but he guessed it was some hours, when they came upon a village. They slowed down and dismounted at the outskirts, far enough not to be seen, but close enough to hear the joyous singing coming from the village.

Rand, Perrin, Mat and Thom all began to voice their opinion that they should go to the village, rest a few hours and perhaps even partake in the festivities of something called Bel Tine. Haplo stayed silent and watched. He was a bit surprised when the girl, Egwene, stayed silent but the reason was clear after a small glance to her direction: Egwene was dead tired. She was probably regretting her decision to leave the village right about now, since the first reality of adventuring had set in: It was tiring and not fun at all.

Lan quickly interrupted any discussion. "We won't be going to the village. We can't stop for any longer period of time until after we cross the river Taren. We'll just take a small moment of rest here before continuing. Moiraine is going through the horses, removing their fatigue and she'll do the same to you in a few moments. Then we'll continue on."

Haplo looked towards the other horses and indeed, Moiraine was walking from one horse to another, touching them briefly before moving on. Immediately after her touch the horses seemed vigorous and even eager to run.

"What about you?" Rand asked from Lan. "You speak of Moiraine helping us, but not you. Won't she do the same for you and herself as well?"

Lan answered gruffly. "I have no need for it, not yet. And she…What she can do to others is something she can't do to herself. Only one of us will ride tired. You'll just have to pray that she doesn't get too tired until we reach Tar Valon."

Rand was about to ask something else, when Moiraine's voice carried over from Egwene and her horse.

"You were right Rand. Bela did keep up with us quite nicely. And she certainly seems to have some of that Two Rivers stubbornness. If at all possible, this mare seems to be the least tired from this group. But what about you, Haplo? I saw the way you rode and it's quite clear you're not too comfortable in the saddle. How are you holding up?"

Haplo plastered a small smile on his face. While tiring, these few hours had been nothing compared to some of the hardships he had been forced to endure. "I am fine, Moiraine Sedai." He said, adopting the saying he had heard used before. "In fact, you can skip me as well. I feel more energized than tired from that little sprint and a little pain from being unused to saddle is nothing at all. But thank you for asking."

Oh yes, if Moiraine wanted to know more about him, then he would force her to directly asking, simply watching and trying to come up with answers on her own or he would assure that he got something in return. He would not reveal his secrets to more people unless the situation required so. And right now it didn't.

Suddenly an inhuman scream pierced the air and a pair of wings swooped low, just above the party. The night instantly seemed a shade darker as the Draghkar flew over them and the horses reared widly.

Barely keeping the horse in the ground with his arm strength, Haplo studied the creature as it flew away. The wind left behind by the beast left Haplo feel like he was covered in slime, not entirely too different from the taint he had earlier extracted from Tam al'Thor. But the feeling did leave once the wind died down. Yet outwardly he didn't react. _So that is a Draghkar,_ Haplo though. _I can see why they would be afraid of it. But if it dies like anything else, then it's of no real concern to my personal health. But the others… Now what will you do, Aes Sedai?_

Looking around, he saw rest of the party in chaos, trying to control their mounts. With three exceptions: Lan's horse wasn't too disturbed by the beast in the first place, Moiraine was on her saddle, apparently unperturbed, and Rand had managed to quickly calm his horse down. Haplo also noted with interest that Rand had his sword drawn. _Interesting, his instinct tells him to fight, not flee. And he's a sheepherder with no battle experience or martial training. Yes, an interesting reaction._

With a quick order from Lan, they mounted once more. Apparently the Warder though that the beast was tracking them now and the Myrddraal would be after them very soon. But Haplo saw Rand was still staring into the sky with sword in hand. _ A very strong instinct indeed. Almost… unnatural… for a human._ Rand did seem to come to his senses and in a jerky movement he sheathed his sword, as if embarrassed. He was looked briefly to Haplo and noticed him looking at Rand, before Rand looked to the ground as he mounted his horse. _ He _is _embarrassed. He isn't used to his instinct. Rand is a most curious human it would seem. Perhaps Moiraine will not be the only source of my amusement during this little trip._ Haplo did nod once in encouragement to Rand once he had gotten enough self-respect back to look at anything but ground. A surprised twitch from Rand was the only response Haplo got.A short while later they were again galloping away.

He suddenly heard Lan ask Moiraine "Can't you do anything, perhaps to even wound it?"

Moiraines answer was curt and loud, carrying over the sound of hooves striking the ground. "No! Not from the back of a galloping horse. They are not easily killed and it will continue to pursue us, even if wounded, with that Fade urging it onwards! We can only ride and hope for the best! Unless…" She slowed down a bit, allowing Haplo to overtake her before again speeding up, this time matching speed with Haplo's horse.

"Haplo," she began imperiously "can you do something about that creature?"

Haplo allowed a small grin to show on his face. She wasn't asking, she was demanding. Now would be a good time to lay down the rules.

"Possibly. But I don't take too well to orders I know are not necessary to prolong my life. So I will require something in return."

Moiraine just looked like she had been slapped to the face, before schooling the face of indifference back. _ Oh yes, she is used to getting what she demands. This will be a good wake-up call for her._

"You will answer five questions of mine to the best of your ability. You will tell the truth and will not leave anything pertinent out. They will be nothing too personal in nature, that I can assure, but five questions of any topic you will give me. I may demand the answers at any time, any place. If you truly don't know anything even resembling the answer, then I shall accept it as a question wasted. Do you agree to this, Moiraine?"

_This will be a good test. She has no idea what I will ask; therefore she must assume the worst. Does she value her secrets more than the assured safety of this party? She could take the chance that we get lucky, but will she take it? The true question I posed to you Moiraine Sedai, is that are you a gambler or not, and just how important these village boys are to you?_

He grinned even wider when he saw Lan try and stare him to death and the others to gaping at him in amazement while still trying to keep up the speed.

It took a while until Moiraine delivered her answer in a soft, barely audible voice.

"Yes. I agree to the terms."

Haplo grinned even wider. The situation had just changed as the _status quo_ had shifted in his favor.

"Then we might as well slow down, for in a minute we won't be in such a hurry." he said just as he pulled the reins, slowly bringing the horse to a full stop.

**xXxXx**

Rand though the night couldn't get any more surreal. He was proved wrong however, when Moiraine had _asked _Haplo for help. Well, demanded, but from what he had seen so far, for an Aes Sedai that was the closest thing to asking politely

Sure, Haplo had healed his father and his father had said something about Haplo quite likely hiding some amazing things, but it was still a shock to see a living and breathing Aes Sedai confirm that Haplo could do something she couldn't. And now they were stopping of all things.

Rand along with the others watched with unbridled curiosity as Haplo dismounted and began to draw strange glowing symbols _in the air with his hands_! He was also speaking in a language Rand hadn't heard, but it had a flowing, a chanting quality to it. Soon Haplo had finished, apparently pleased with the glowing circle of symbols hanging in the air.

He then began to draw even more complicated symbols on the ground. Rand wasn't sure, but he though some of the symbols began to draw themselves before Haplo's hands even got that far in the intricate design. Uttering the last syllable, Haplo stood back to watch his creation. The runes in the ground began to expand and copy themselves in a circular manner, soon creating a large circle encompassing all of the party inside. The horses were prancing about nervously, apparently unnerved by the glowing ground beneath them.

Haplo turned back to the original symbols he had drawn in the air and said "Get off those horses, hold them tight and cover your ears. As they say, the show is about to begin."

Rand had never heard that saying before, but did as told. Haplo drew one final symbol in the middle of the aerial circle. The symbols compressed into a bright, glowing ball of light that shot upwards towards the sky. Soon it was as bright as the day and they heard the inhuman screech of the Draghkar once more.

The beast was diving towards them, apparently enraged by the ball of light now hovering just above them over the treeline and driven by its hunting instincts. But, as soon as it flew over them, trying to extinguish the light, the symbols on the ground stopped glowing and disappeared.

A thundering boom that was felt as much as heard was issued from above them as five huge bolts of lighting came down from the clouds overhead and struck the beast in midflight. A blink of an eye later, the beast was crashing into the treetops, obviously dead. And not a trace remained of the strange runes or the glowing ball of light Haplo had created. The clouds were still in the sky, yet Rand knew from their looks that normally they would not have produced lighting. If Rand still wasn't half-deaf, half-blind and smelling the ozone, he would have easily marked this as a strange dream as he stared at Haplo.

"Well then, shall we get going? I'm certain the trollocs aren't the only ones aware of our position right now." Haplo remarked before clumsily mounting his horse.

The only sound made by the others was the quiet muttering coming from Mat.

**xXxXx**

They were safe. At least for the moment, having just crossed the river Taren with a ferry. Though that crossing had not gone without an incident. Haplo had looked at Moiraine with a raised eyebrow as the ferry that had just brought them over had began drifting, somehow getting loose from all the knots and ropes. And as a whirlpool, something the ferrymen said they had never seen on Taren, somehow swallowed the ferry and broke it to pieces.

It had effectively made all chances of crossing the river impossible for the next few days, until a new ferry could be constructed.

'Unfortunate accident' indeed, as Moiraine and Lan had said it. To Haplo this was more proof that Lan and Moiraine could be as unscrupulous as any other human. Rand, Mat and Perrin had seemed a bit bothered, but the sooner they learned that life isn't fair, the sooner they would grow up. And if whatever was after them, guiding the fades and trollocs, was so intent on getting them, then they would need to grow up fast.

Mat decided to open his mouth first. "Ah, Moi… I mean Aes Sedai… Did you just… the ferry..umm…I mean, I don't understand why you…"

Moiraine squared her shoulders, staring imperiously at the group. "If I explained my every decision to you, we would be here for days, doing nothing but talking. All you need to know is that I intend to get you safely to Tar Valon."

The youngsters seemed mostly satisfied, if still a bit fearful. Haplo didn't buy that explanation and now he could do something about it. "Notice that she didn't say we would be safe _at_ Tar Valon, nor did she define what safely means. Physically unharmed, but insane or alternatively crippled but mentally healthy could still be considered safe by some."

The group looked incredulously at Haplo, as if not believing that he would question the Aes Sedai. But then Thom began to grin a bit. He said "Yes. The Aes Sedai never lie, but the truth you _think_ you heard might not be the truth they actually said. No offense meant, Moiraine Sedai, but that is what the tales of old tell."

Haplo nodded to Thom, acknowledging his words before continuing. "You agreed to five questions. My first question is why these youngsters are so important to you that you would risk life and limb for them?"

A silence ensued. Before long Moiraine answered "We are all tired and need rest. Lan has arranged something for us. If you can just wait for a few minutes, I'll then answer you question. Away from possible ears listening in the night."

They continued on a short while, reaching a small campsite. Lan dismounted and went to a small bush nearby, apparently checking something before calling out "The wood is still dry. We can make a fire in short order. We'll be staying here for the night. But look after the horses first; we'll need them still."

They dismounted and Moiraine was about to take Egwene somewhere, saying something about them needing to talk. But Haplo wanted an answer to his question and he wanted everyone to hear it. His limited experience with Alfred about keeping things secret had not ended well. If they had just told each other what they knew, things might have ended differently on Chelestra and inside the Labyrinth.

"Don't go anywhere Moiraine. I want my answer now. As in _right_ now." he said with a stern voice.

Lan immediately gave him an evil eye, trying to glare him to death. But Haplo was focused on Moiraine, seeing her hesitate a bit, but then turning back towards the others with a sigh. Immediately all action ceased as everyone began to listen.

"The Farther of Lies is stirring. There have been certain omens, things that have come to pass and terrible things singing all over the world proclaiming this. The trollocs at Emond's field is one of these. There is something about these boys, perhaps in just one of them, perhaps in all of them, that he wants. Whatever the Dark One wants, I oppose. It's as simple as that." She once more turned to leave, but Haplo interrupted her.

"I notice you didn't say anything about Egwene. She is still a youngster, so she is covered by my question. And my second question is do you know or strongly suspect what it is that this Dark One wants and from whom? Talk."

Moiraine looked at him with ice-cold eyes, but at the same time there was a small hint of pleading. Clearly she didn't want to go there. It was a silent, but steely voice that responded. "Haplo…._please_ give me a few minutes with her alone. She has the right to know about her situation before anyone else. I'll answer after that, though for your second question I strongly _suggest_ that I do so only to you. I understand what you are after, but not all secrets are for all to hear."

"Fine," he responded "But whatever that secret is, you will share it as soon as you have told her."

She didn't bother looking back as she led the confused Egwene deeper to the woods.

Haplo saw as Rand almost immediately began to edge away from the others, apparently wanting to go after them with out the others seeing. Unfortunately for him, Both Haplo and Thom saw him. That would mean that Lan did as well. But if Rand would realize this would still remain to be seen.

Thom simply gave Rand a few words before turning back to his horse. "Lad, I know you like her. It's a plain as daylight for all to see. But remember that Aes Sedai don't take kindly to those who meddle in their plans. "A quick look towards Haplo meant that he was meant for him as well. "Understand this, boy; usually there are only a few reasons why an Aes Sedai would talk to someone, a _female_ someone, alone. If she has the ability, then any decision made will be outside your control, so much beyond you that you might as well reach for the stars. Go after her, but think of what you will do if she does have the ability. Will you reject her, will you submit to her and the White Tower in hope that she will stay with you, or will you fight? That is the only decision you can make. Now go."

Mat had begun to groom his horse with movements born of long practice. He did have some problems though, as the horses were restless and looked to be full of energy. "Why did we stop?" he asked Lan. "We are tired, sure, but the horses look like they could still run."

"Yes, they _look_ like that. And they would happily run, not feeling a bit tired until they suddenly drop dead. What Moiraine Sedai did only made them, and you, feel energized. It did nothing to actually remove the fatigue."

A timid "Oh." was all the response Mat gave.

Thom continued to groom his horse, now looking at Haplo and his clumsy attempts to do the same. In only slightly louder voice he asked "Need some help there, Mr. Haplo?"

Deciding to take the offer Haplo simply nodded. Thom quickly came over and began to show him how to properly take care of his horse.

"You apparently haven't ridden for quite a while. The merchants you were guarding had no horses for their guards?" Thom asked with glean in his eyes.

"Let's cut the bullshit, shall we Mr. Merrilin. We both know intelligent men when we see them. And even a dumb child would see by now that I'm not from around here. Unless of course you think me one of those destined to be insane?" Haplo replied curtly.

"Aye. So it would seem. Insane you are not, though so openly opposing an Aes Sedai might be considered a definitive sign of that. The question then becomes, where are you from? I, the great gleeman Thom Merrilin know many stories from ages past and present and lands near and far. I can even recite the entire Karaethon Cycle from memory. But I don't remember of anyone ever mentioning something like the.. abilities…you have shown. Not even one mention of anything but the users of _saidin_ and, as you said, even there are several differences, one of the most notable ones being that you don't seem insane. So from where does the mister Haplo No-name hail from? And how is it that he can cow an Aes Sedai?"

Haplo sighed, knowing he'd have to tell something. His thoughts about secrets ran both ways. Who was he to keep his when he practically demanded that Moiraine Sedai surrender hers? Seeing everyone present now look at him in interest he began with a penetrating and chilling voice, the old memories beginning to surface.

"My 'home', if you can call it that, is a place where monster walk about, hunting you both day and night. Where life is constant, never-ending struggle for survival. There even children must learn to fight and cling to life with their teeth or die away. There the weak are culled by a sentient evil that governs, or perhaps even is the essence of the place I was given birth in. By the actions of my people and our enemies untold suffering has been and still is brought about to 'lesser' races." Haplos features hardened as he remembered what he had been through, how he had been lied to and mislead. And how he had done the same. His face began to twist in anger.

"Or at least I think so. Everything was so convoluted; at times you doubted your own name. Anything might have happened since I… left... or was cast out, depending on if you believe in a sadistic higher power or not." His face softened however, when he involuntarily remembered the peace he had felt when he, unknowingly, entered the seventh gate for the first time. Where the Sartan had attempted to contact others of their kind, but briefly contacted something else instead. The wonder, the hope, the utter and complete love… he still remembered it.

"I will not go into details about my home for right now you have enough problems as it is. All you need to know is that no human can survive at my birthplace alone for more than a few days and even then it requires incredible luck. But it is also far away. So far away that I doubt you will ever hear from it from anyone else. In fact, I would go as far as to say that it would be quite impossible for any of you to travel there without my explicit help."

"So yes, I'm not exactly what you would classify as a normal human. Nor a demon, a god, an angel or whatever you people believe in. We call ourselves the Patryn and I've never actually ridden a horse before today. We simply don't have them and even if we did I doubt we'd have any need for them. Our magic is plentiful and powerful. That, along with our will to live has kept us alive for long enough. Now you, master Merrilin, just brandished you knowledge of history. Mind telling me why these magic users, these Aes Sedai, are hated and feared so much? It's just magic. A powerful force, no doubt about that, yet still nothing more than a tool."

Thom was quiet for a moment, clearly digesting Haplo's words. The gleeman no longer smiled and after a small moment said in a somber tone "That is a tale everyone knows. Rarely in its complete form, but the main points always remain the same: Once there were both male and female Aes Sedai, which in the old language means 'servant of others' or 'servant of all'. They use the equal, but opposite forces of Saidin and Saidar, respectively. But there was a war, not between men, but against the Farther of Lies and his armies of trollocs, myrddraal, shadowhounds and others."

"Men won, but the final retaliation from the Dark One left Saidin, the male half of magic, tainted. Its effects were not noticed immediately, but slowly every male Aes Sedai went mad. And when they did, they usually went out with a bang. A bang as in crushing mountains, drying up lakes, flooding areas with the sea, burning grasslands to dust, making the earth swallow entire cities and so forth. The strongest of them all was one of the leaders of men in the war. His name was Lews Therin Telamon, but he had gotten the nickname Dragon. His passing was the most momentous of all. Once he was done, he had a new name: the Kinslayer they called him and with good reason. As his final act, perhaps in a moment of sanity or the height of his insanity, he killed himself and in doing so created the Dragonmount, the mountain next to Tar Valon. One by one, the male Aes Sedai went mad and broke the world. "

"The survivors rebuild as well as they could, but so much was lost. The Age of Legends had come to an end. Some artifacts and wonders of construction still remain, though no one knows for certainty how they were built, or in some cases even their original function. Saidin is still tainted. Those born with the ability to touch it go mad, sooner or later. It is inevitable. They _will_ touch the True Source and I've heard that once you touch it, you want to touch it again and again. The breaking of the world is why magic in general is feared and hated, but the power of magic coupled with the madness inherent in Saidin and the inevitability of it is the reason male magic users are feared and hated even more. That is why they are hunted down as soon as they are found out. So that they can have no chances to bring that level of destruction again, even if it means killing them in cold blood. Of course, the fact that many of the wars throughout the history have been instigated by said males doesn't help."

"The only problem in this solution is that there is a prophesy of sorts. The Karaethon Cycle, also called the Prophesies of the Dragon. It says that there will be one male Aes Sedai to fight the Shadow yet again. That he will break the world once more and he shall in fact be the Dragon Reborn."

"What many people forget is that the Karaethon Cycle also says that _like the unfettered dawn shall he blind us, and burn us, yet shall the Dragon Reborn confront the Shadow at the Last Battle, and his blood shall give us the Light. _ That is the essence of the prophesies. That there _will_ be another breaking at the hands of a male Aes Sedai, another Dragon, but that he shall also save us. Unfortunately, the people in general only see the part where death and destruction will spread far and wide. Therefore, not many want to believe the Karaethon Cycle to be true."

Haplo was quiet for a while before responding. "I can see why the normal people would come to hate them. We had something similar in our history, called the Sundering. In fact it is the reason my race lives in such horrifying conditions. But I'll tell more of that later. For know I believe Lady Moiraine is coming back. Along with Rand and Egwene."

Rand was looking crestfallen. It was quite clear to everyone that whatever had happened, it had indeed completely and utterly crushed something inside him. Egwene on the other hand seemed to be bubbling, almost giddy in her bouncing gait. And Moiraine, well, Moiraine looked just as she had before. It was as if nothing could touch that calm demeanor of hers.

Egwene quickly broke the precarious calm that had descended over the group after Haplo's revelation.

"I'm going to be an Aes Sedai! Mat, Perrin, isn't it awesome? I can touch the True Source! I can do it!" She actually began to giggle a bit, seemingly unaware of the horrified stares Mat and Perrin were giving him.

Both Thom and Haplo were looking at Rand who seemed like he had heard none of that. Then again, he already knew and was trying to process what had happened. Thom said a few words to Rand in a hushed voice. It seemed to bring some life back to the boy, even if the scowl on his face didn't lessen. Meanwhile Haplo was busy with reprimanding the young girl.

"Egwene, "he began "Perhaps you are too wrapped up in your own personal universe, but look around you. How many happy faces do you see here? Sure, it's a great thing for you, but just think for a moment about how your friends might feel. Or is the great and noble Aes Sedai-to-be above such things?" The anger in his voice was palatable. _These stupid _menchs_ don't simply think! Oh, a day in the Labyrinth, or even on Arianus, would do them good…_

"What are you talking about, they…" She couldn't finish as she finally _looked_ at her friends. With a gasp she understood. Had she herself not proclaimed Aes Sedai people to be vary around of? She herself had more than once during her life condemned them. Now she was about to become one of them, with just a moments notice.

"I-…. I… I'm just…. Oh light!" She whirled around only to see Rand sitting on a log, morosely staring at the ground while Thom was talking to him. "Oh Rand…" she almost sobbed as she rushed to talk to Rand.

_Oh great, first she's on top of Nexus and now she's back at the first Gate. Why do these humans have to be so emotional…I guess trying to truly understand them is nigh impossible._

"That went well." he said. "But fortunately for us, she's not the one who has to do the talking. Moiraine, if you please."

"Fine" she responded with an icy tone. "You've apparently taken care of the horses. Lan, start a fire while I talk."

"The rest of the answer to the first question should be obvious. She can channel. The reason she's so important is that every year we get fever and fever candidates for Aes Sedai training. And those who have the ability are weaker every year. Egwene on the other hand… She has much potential. So much that when fully trained she could easily defeat me in terms of power. The old blood sings at Two rivers. The same stubbornness, the same attitude and the same instincts as people of old had is found in abundance. If I found Egwene after a mere few days stop at one of the villages and without actually testing anyone, there might be more, should be more. And they might help revitalize the slowly aging ranks of the Aes Sedai."

She looked around at others before adding "This is not well known outside the White Tower. You would do well not to spread this information. In many places it is the strength of the White Tower that keeps the trouble and panic spreading. Many a war has been avoided due to the perceived strength of the Tower. Strenght that is still there, even if it isn't quite as much as in the olden days."

"As to your second question Haplo….. Yes, I suspect strongly. Both of what he is after and who ha…" at this point Moiraine clamped up, as if something was preventing her from talking. Only Haplo and Thom actually saw that the pause wasn't voluntary. It lasted only for a while and she quickly resumed "I suspect who _is_ it. That answers you question. I will say no more of this. Not while we remain in danger."

Thom said from the sidelines "Looks like the stories of the Three Oaths are true. _To speak no word that is not true_…" Whatever else he was about to say was broken by a shrill cry coming from somewhere other side of the river.

"That would be the myrddraal." Lan spoke. "It lost our track and has no Draghkar to search for us. Once it sees the destroyed ferry it will likely assume we went over with it. But is has to take into account that it might be a distraction and we travelled with a boat for a short while. It will have to search the river and that will delay it. And if it plans on keeping it's presence a secret it'll have to keep all the trollocs with it. That will slow it down even more."

"Isn't that a bit counter-intuitive?" asked Mat. "I mean a man… or in this case a myrddraal will surely be faster alone. Why would it keep the trollocs with it?"

"Because that myrddraal is the only thing keeping them in line this close to human settelements. If it leaves those trollocs to their devices, within hours they'll charge to the nearest village and will begin to… feast. On humans." Lan responded with an even tone. Perrin began to gag a bit, clearly uncomfortable with the idea.

"It can't afford that to happen and that is fortunate for us, don't forget." said Moiraine. "Now, time for me to ease your tiredness and then we can get some sleep. We have a long way to go until we reach Tar Valon."

With varying degrees of resistance, everyone excluding a forceful Haplo, got refreshed by Moiraine. She only heaved a tired sigh as she fell asleep almost instantly after finishing.

Not an hour later Lan woke everyone but Moiraine up. Silently and under the watchful eye of the Warder they began to clean the small cove of threes. Shortly after sunrise they were ready to leave, all signs of their stay hidden or removed.

Haplo was also quite tired, though he managed it better than Moiraine. But now that they were riding, he lost himself in a half-sleep, awake only enough to keep following the other and to subconsciously stay aware of any dangers that might be present. He was woken from his slumber though, when Rand, Mat, Perrin and Egwene began to talk about leaving the Two Rivers for the first time. Apparently they had never been this far out and were homesick already. That was quite normal for youngsters like them, Haplo figured, though a bit irritating. He himself had never had a home. In the Labyrinth you either ran, alone or rarely with someone, or you joined one of the nomadic groups taking a slower approach to the search for an escape. But what really ticked him off was when Egwene scolded the others for the homesickness and yet it was clear that she was feeling it as well.

"Men! You get your adventure and are away from Emond's Field like you always wanted and now you are already whining. For once, decide what you want." She had said haughtily.

Haplo perked up a bit and scolded her in turn. "Will you shut up? You are constantly talking about this flower, that tree or how beautiful the clouds are. They at least understand the reality of the situation and stay mostly quiet, making it more difficult to find us by sound. I'd say they are dealing a lot better with the fact they left their home. You are homesick as well, but for some reason beyond me you have to hide it. Why do you try to deny what you feel?"

Egwene was about to retort when Haplo suddenly continued.

"Denial is a powerful force. Deny your feelings, your thoughts and you essentially deny yourself. This limits your own power and your choices. Deny the feelings and thoughts of others and you limit your understanding. Deny the power of others and you simply delude yourself. But stay true to yourself and resist, but don't deny, the power of others… That is when you gain power over them. Do you wish to be less than what you are? Do you wish to deny yourself? Live in a lie? If not, then think before opening your mouth."

Thom inserts his own comments. "Hmm, what you are saying is that courage is not the lack of fear but acting in spite of it? That intelligence is not lack of knowledge but learning because of it? Power is not lack of weakness but rather overcoming it? An interesting way to look at life, master Haplo. Not many would come to such a conclusion. In fact, not many would even think of such things."

"I've had an interesting life, master Gleeman. Interesting and, at times, dangerous. That much you already know. Those are the truths that have worked for me. They are part of the reason I've survived."

It took them close to a week to get to Baerlon. They tried to keep up the pace, but the running they has done during the first two days had taken quite a toll on the horses. In the end they did manage to lose the myrddraal at the river and without a draghkar to hunt for it, it didn't find their track again. Lan had been pushing his own mount by travelling back and forth between their front and covering and checking their tracks with his horse. Apparently his horse, Mandarb, was a full bred and trained war-horse. The rest of them were travelling at walking speed and whenever someone picked up the pace Lan would be there to remind them of how well they would do in a race against trollocs without their horse. So the overall pace of the group was sedate.

Haplo had learned quite a bit during this time. Staying mostly silent and merely listening while travelling had its advantages. No-one had had the guts to ask him about his past after his brief description, though when Mat and Perrin had told Rand, he had received quite a bewildered and perhaps a bit fearful look.

Lan had also been glaring at him. Haplos sporadic veiled remarks about their short battle always brought the Warders temper fore. He didn't show it of course, but the slight tightening of his mouth was as good an indicator as any. Lan in turn continued to avoid him and whenever possible give him cold glares.

It seemed that this cold weather was not common this time of the year. Haplo had though that he had come to some naturally cold place, but apparently it should be much warmer and the trees should be in full bloom. Instead the trees were mostly devoid of any fresh leaves. Haplo was uncannily reminded of the cold conditions at the upper parts of Arianus, where ice had begun to form due to the cold weather. No vegetation seemed healthy and the ground was mostly barren from dead or dying plants.

This merely reinforced Haplo's belief that something was wrong on a grander scale. He was unsure of what this Dark One or Farther of Lies, or many other 'fake' names it was given, actually was or if it had this kind of power. It wasn't possible was it? The accursed snakes were not here and without the Seventh Gate only an entire group of Patryn or Sartan could do something like this.

That was something else that bothered Haplo. What had happened to Alfred, to Xar and the mensch after his impromptu departure through the Death Gate? Had they won? Had Xar broken the world again or had he resisted the snakes? Had Alfred closed the final portal, the Gate to the Labyrinth, and locked the dragon snakes, Patryn, Sartan and the good dragons in an eternal struggle at that hellish place in order to let the mensch live their lives without the influence of their so-called betters, their half-gods? No matter what had happened, he felt he had taken the right course in trying to lock up everyone in the labyrinth. The mensch had been nothing but pawns since the Sartan and Patryn first came about and the absolute evil and absolute good represented by the dragon snakes and their opposites, the golden dragons, was not something that should have ever been created.

But both the Sartan and the Partyn shared their shame in their creation. The dragon snakes were evil personified, given form from the overabundance of hatred, fear, jealousy and loathing of both the Sartan and Patryn. The Weave, or 'reality' as it was called by the mensch, was something that always searched for a balance, guided by the Wave. The Patryn were there to balance the Sartan, the good dragons were there to balance the dragon snakes. Yet even the Patryn and Sartan were too powerful, trampling on the 'lesser' races and disturbing whatever balance they might have been with their mere presence. They had caused the Sundering, they had discovered the vile methods of Necromancy and they had made the mensch fight their wars for them. The draconic embodiments of good and evil were the same, but even in a greater degree, fighting a war that should not have been necessary.

Yes, Haplo was convinced that it was the proof that the Weave wasn't aware. A tad sentient perhaps, but not truly aware. If it were, it would never have tried to achieve balance through the creation of such beings. The Weave simply was, as it had been and would be: An existence made of possibilities becoming reality according to the choices made by those living _within_ it, not by choices made by the Weave or something else outside of it.

There was also something about Sartan magic that had left him with a strange feeling. Something about what he knew of Sartan runes screamed to be noticed, yet he couldn't make the connection. Perhaps it was because he was a master of Patryn magic. They were diametrically opposed styles using different sets of runes and methods to achieve the same result. The other worked from within, the other from without. Sartan runes were sung and danced, representing the runes by the motions made with their hands, feet and positions of body. Patryn magic was based on literally drawing them in the air or some other substance with hands while chanting them. Sartan magic was more focused on singular, but complex runes while the Patryn runes were simple and usually less powerful on their own, but were almost always combined in a circle of some kind. Circle, with no beginning and no end, endlessly channeling the power put within, was of great importance to the Patryn as a people.

It was something about this idea about a circle and the powerful Sartan runes that continued to nag his subconscious. But he just couldn't figure it out.

During the evenings Lan had begun to teach the three young men some basics of fighting. All were good with the bow; though Rand was clearly the best of them with a method he called 'the flame and the void'. Lan had them going through basic exercises for the axe and the sword. From what Haplo could see the movements of the sword were meant to be flowing and smooth. Rand was slowly getting the hang of it even though he clearly had a long way to go. Haplo watched these with interest, though he had no desire to learn this style himself. It lacked too much in evasion, preferring instead to narrowly duck or block. Haplo knew that magic or magical weapons would easily exploit these holes in the defense, though the style likely would do well against non-magical opponents.

Rand was also going through his personal crisis as Egwene was getting used to the freedom from the strict rules of the small village. Apparently keeping your hair in a braid was a sign of maturity at Two Rivers and yet she was letting her hair flow free because 'Aes Sedai don't wear braids unless they want to'.

Haplo had barely stopped Rand from making a comment about darkfriends and Aes Sedai. Why these fools though they knew everything was beyond him. _But, _a tiny voice that had formerly been represented by his Dog reminded him, _so did we. We are no better._ And indeed that was the case. Haplo decided to have that little chat with Rand while they rode forwards.

"Rand, I as well as everyone else has noticed this little problem that seems to be developing with you and Egwene. Mind sharing a bit?"

Rand merely looked at him, currently being one of his gloomier moments. "Why do you even care, Haplo? Or is that even your name? Just… Just leave me alone. I don't need your help. I can take care of it, so you won't have to butt your magical ass into it."

"Oh but I think you do need my help. At least listen, even if you decide not to speak." Haplo then made sure they had even a bit of privacy by slowing down a bit. Surprisingly Rand did slow down as well, apparently still wanting the company.

"Haplo is not my real name, true. It is simply the closest equivalent you can pronounce without a crash-course in my language. Just like you have this Old Tongue where each word has a more complex meaning that a single word in your own language can represent, the word 'Haplo' has a meaning as well. It is what best represents my true name. 'Alone', 'Single' or 'The lonely one' or even 'Lonely traveler' is a fairly accurate description of what my name means. And in my language words have power. Names have even greater power, for they are unique words. For almost all my life I have been alone. I've had only a single persons I might call a friend and he was my most hated enemy for a long time before I realized it. I don't remember my parents, though among the Patryn that is normal. I never knew love until I realized I had lost it. Yet this name of mine was the greatest blessing my parents could think for me. Such is the place of my birth that loneliness is preferable to many alternatives."

Rand's eyes went wide at hearing this, looking at him in wonder. "So what my father told me…About seeing something, it was real? About a…a…_flogging_ and…"

"Yes. What he saw was an afternoon in my childhood. Quite a normal occurrence, nothing too special happened that day. Merely another day of fear, loathing, anger and utter terror mixed with a bit of traveling. And just as he saw a memory of mine, I saw a memory of his. Of him fighting a people called Aiel and then finding you on the slopes of a great mountain next to a city called Tar Valon."

Rand seemed to clamp up. Apparently this had also been stressing him.

"He is your father, Rand. He raised you, he loved you, still loves you. He would give his life for yours in a blink of an eye. That much I got from that memory even though the concepts of those feelings are a bit alien to me. Blood and preconceptions are not everything. Actions speak louder. If I could become friends with my bitter enemy, surely you can call the man who took care of you your 'father' and surely you can discuss things with Egwene without resorting to shouting."

"But she's suddenly become so… I don't know, haughty? 'Higher than thou'? All she thinks about is becoming an Aes Sedai."

"Now you are whining, Rand." Haplo said a bit testily. Mensch could truly be a bit thickheaded sometimes.

"I didn't save your father from death to see you whine. _Of course_ being an Aes Sedai is all she thinks about. You're not _thinking_." Haplo said with a louder voice, making sure everyone heard what he was saying.

"It's not like she's any different from a child. She suddenly finds out she has a new toy. Magic definitely is not one, but _she sees it_ as such. And you are whining because you are not allowed to play with this toy and get left behind. Getting a new ability doesn't change what is inside. If she's this shallow now, then you are better off without her. And if she's not, she'll swallow her pride, curb her enthusiasm and actually think about her actions for a while. And if you have any feelings for her, or any respect towards Aes Sedai you will forget all this nonsense of them being automatically evil and talk to her like the young man you are supposed to be. This whining kid in front of me isn't the man who carried his dying father all the way from their farm to the village to get help. _Think_ Rand. Just think bef…"

Rand began his response in a quiet, mournful voice, cutting Haplo off. "It's not fair. It's not fair! BY THE LIGHT IT'S NOT FAIR! She's supposed to be safe at home, where the trollocs can't get to her! She not supposed to be here, _all giddy and happy_ about 'adventuring' while we're hunted, and so _bloody joyful_ about becoming a bloody Aes Sedai! She's not supposed to be happy about joining those bloody darkfriends who broke the world! And she's bloody well not supposed to suddenly act like we've never known each other! Aes Sedai this, Aes Sedai that! It's all she says these days! Blood and bloody ashes, SCREW THE AES SEDAI!"

At the end of his tirade, everyone was looking at him. Most of them recoiling in horror and trepidation. Possibly not because they thought differently, but because they were not stupid enough to say such things within hearing range of one of the Aes Sedai.

Moiraine and Lan were glaring at him. Lan then reminded them "As you said, we are being hunted. Perhaps you should yell a bit louder. There are some trollocs at Shayoul Ghoul that didn't quite catch that last part."

Rand merely looked down in shame. It just wasn't bloody fair. Haplo though, still had something to say, this time to Rand's ears only. "Life is not fair kid. _Grow up and get used to it_. But more importantly, are you feeling better? Sometimes you need to let out a bit of steam, I know that quite well. Perhaps now that you've calmed down you can act like a man instead of a spoiled child. Believe me, these problems might seem insurmountable to you but I'm a living example that things could be a lot worse and you still survive. Remember what I've said earlier. Remember Thom's words as well, he seems like a man who knows what he speaks."

"Always remember, the world is not black and white. Merely shades of gray. If you have the strength to complain, you have the strength to do something about it. Never deny something. Accept it and move forwards with it, through it or in spite of it. If it helps, keep repeating these in your head and live by them until you know yourself what truths you want to live by. Or use that 'flame and void' of yours, that seems to calm you down. Just remember: if you are in no hurry, then think before you act."

Haplo began to speed up a bit, overtaking the group once more. Before reaching them however, he said one more thing. "You can always come and talk to me. Sometimes it helps to have a willing ear close by." _But unless you grow up, I hope it's not too often… Mensch…_

**xXxXx**

It was on the afternoon of the sixth day that they finally arrived at the wooden gated of Baerlon. Apparently Thom was unimpressed, Lan and Moiraine remained stoic. Egwene, Rand, Perrin and Mat were gaping. Haplo stared for a while and decided that this place was indeed unimpressive. Then again, he had seen Nexus and the Sartan city built there. He'd also seen the energy-collecting fortress-like Citadels on Pryan. After that, it was kind of hard to be impressed by mere feats of construction.

After a brief discussion with the gatekeeper they were inside. Apparently things had gotten so bad that the gates were locked even before sundown, though they would make an exception for 'Mistress Alys' and 'master Andra' and their companions. A coin pressed to a palm. 'And yes, he would be more than happy to forget they came back'. Another coin switched hands. 'Or that they had ever left'. After all, 'those darned Whitecloaks would bring nothing but trouble for good Mistress and Master. Oh no, this gate hasn't been opened for days.' Apparently this behavior of _flexible_ morals was expected in the minds of the boys, though seeing it apparently made them a bit uneasy.

Apparently there had been a great battle somewhere. Someone had named himself the Dragon Reborn. Supposedly this was a fairly normal happening once in a while. But what made it interesting was that this man supposedly could channel magic and that he was heading towards a city called Tear. Once they were inside Thom explained that at the Karaethon Cycle was a passage that proclaimed that the Stone of Tear, a fortress, would not fall until the 'People of the Dragon' came to it. The fortress had never fallen and it was the first to be built after the breaking of the world. To conquer the Stone of Tear would be a major proof that the Dragon had been Reborn. Other passage said that the Stone would not fall until some untouchable sword would be held by this Dragon Reborn. Unfortunately for every wannabe Dragon Reborn, the sword was inside the Stone. Haplo was a bit skeptical about this. A fortress was supposed to fall by a specific people, but the Dragon would first have to enter it and take the sword from the middle of the fortress into his hand before he would actually succeed in conquering the Stone? A bit of circular logic apparently never hurt anyone, though he would need to hear the exact wording before making any judgment.

Thom had just finished his story as they entered an inn from the backside. Someone named master Pitch was the innkeeper. Haplo gave a quiet sigh. Sure, he could live on the run, in the forests and caves for years, but certain comforts had grown to him. A bath would be most welcome. Any monster from the Labyrinth would have found them easily from their stench alone.

The inn, called the Stag and the Lion, was busy. It was filled to the brim. Going by the walls they entered the stairs, carefully avoiding bumping into anyone. Lan had gone to 'hear the news' and disappeared into the crowd. Egwene and Moiraine left somewhere and the rest of them went for the baths. The room was fairly large and had several copper tubs next to a large fireplace. Quickly they all disrobed and chose their baths.

Some inane discussion about the weather and their possessions led to a slight altercation as Mat didn't have the intelligence to shut down. Instead he was about to proclaim for all to hear that they were hunted by trollocs. Luckily Perrin and Rand managed to convince the inn worker that Mat was merely an apprentice to Thom the 'Greatest Gleeman this side of Caemlyn' and was simply trying to tell stories.

Also Lan had come in and the helper had quickly fled after Lan gave him a glare. Lan had then given a good thrashing to Mat for even mentioning trollocs. Apparently these Whitecloaks, or Children of the Light as they were called, would zero in on anyone they even suspected might not be perfectly honest, truthful and 'walking in the Light'. Then they would proceed to make that someones life _difficult_, some much so as to torture them until they confessed whatever imagined sins the Whitecloaks accused them of. And they were firmly of the belief that anyone not taking their word as law was a darkfriend and everyone following Aes Sedai was one as well. The Aes Sedai they ranked somewhere between a myrddraal and the forsaken ones. In other words, to be captured and tortured or alternatively killed on sight.

Indeed, if they would hear that a group of boys travelling with an Aes Sedai had a pack of trollocs after them, they would be imprisoned and heavily guarded faster than you could say 'dragon'. And from there their future would not look bright.

When they finally exited the baths Moiraine was standing in the hallway with a slender girl. For a moment Haplo though it was a boy, but the form under the baggy men's clothing was feminine, though barely so. Her hair was also short, cut to the standard men seemed to have in these parts. Though Haplo had seen plenty of short-haired women before. In the Labyrinth a long hair was a liability.

She seemed to look at them, but when her eyes brushed Haplo, she almost jumped out of her skin, seemed to squint a bit and then fell unconscious. Totally bewildered by the situation, everyone was quiet as Moiraine ushered them downstairs to a private dining room for a meal. Lan stayed behind and carried the girl towards a room, Moiraines' most likely, before coming down as well. Everyone wondered if she was well, but Moiraine simply shushed them and led them towards the dinner.

The dinner was a somber affair. Lan talked about what he had heard and everyone listened. Sometimes Moiraine would ask clarifying questions, but otherwise she kept silent as well.

Someone called Logain had named himself the Dragon and actually won a battle at a place called Ghealdan. No one had a clear picture of what had happened to the Aes Sedai that had gone to apprehend him.

The warm food soon made them all lethargic and they went to sleep, safe in the knowledge that no trollocs had been sighted near, nothing that could be a myrddraal had entered the village and the Whitecloaks were busy with the mayor.

**xXxXx**

Rand was in deep sleep. He was in a long hallway made of stone, devoid of all life and any torches or candles. Yet there was an ethereal glow that allowed him to see. He tried to remember something about an inn… But his heard hurt. Thinking hurt. Whatever he had almost remembered was gone.

He felt thirsty. His mouth was so dry. Suddenly he heard a faint sound of water dropping into a pool or a cauldron. _Water,_ was his only though. He was so thirsty. He walked for a while before coming across a wooden door. The sound was coming from the other side. Deciding to open it, he entered a large, grim stone chamber. One wall was a series of grand stone arches, opening to a balcony. The sky outside was strange. Clouds of black and crimson were wrought about by violent winds in a grey sky.

The rest of the room was as strange. Odd curves and strange angles made it hard to concentrate on any particular part, confusing the eye. There was a large fireplace, roaring with almost white flames, yet it didn't feel to give any heat. Rand remembered Perrin saying something…. There he was again, holding his head as a piercing brain caused him to fall to his knees. _Perrin… Who?_ Thinking hurt. He would keep that in mind. Another jolt of pain accompanied that thought.

There was a mirror next to the fireplace. When Rand looked at it, all he saw was a blur. His face was not clear, though everything else was very much in focus.

A man stood in front of the fireplace. He hadn't noticed him when he first came in. He could have sworn no one was in until he actually looked at the man. The man was dressed in dark clothes of fine cut and Rand suspected many women would have found this middle-aged man alluring.

"Once more we meet face to face." the man spoke. Rand scrambled back as the man's eyes suddenly became bottomless pits of fire. He hurried out of the room, only to step back into it as he crossed the threshold on the doorway. Rand couldn't understand. He had just left the room and now he was back in it. Or was it a different room that looked exactly the same?

Thinking hurt.

"You cannot escape so easily."

"This is a dream." Rand said with conviction. "A nightmare. Just a nightmare." He closed his eyes, trying to picture waking up at the Inn and Moiraine would be th…. Again the piercing pain came forth. Thinking hurt. _ Who? Where? What inn?_

"Is it a dream? Or reality? What is the difference? Does it matter?" The man said as he smiled. "You look thirsty. Care for a drink?"

Rand looked around, anywhere else was better than those eyes, eyes that seemed to turn from normal to pits of fire and back again. He noticed a small table by the fireplace. It had not been there before. On the table was a golden goblet, lined with rubies and filled to the brim with delicious looking water.

"I am a little." Rand confirmed. He felt like he hadn't had a drink in days. _ Have I?_ He couldn't remember. Thinking hurt. He took the goblet and raised it towards his lips. But he stopped as he saw the man peer at him intensely. The man had put his hands on the table. Smoke was coming from the wood between his fingers. Something inside of him recoiled in horror, though he couldn't understand why.

"I'm not as thirsty as I though. Thank you though." Rand finally declined, putting the goblet back on the table. The disappointment of the man clearly visible. "Who are you?" Rand asked

Flames rose from the man's mouth and eyes, burning their way through. He began to smile, a smile that held no warmth. Only death, pain and suffering. "Some call me Ba'alzamon."

Rand ran back to the door as fast as he could. _The Farther of Lies! The Dark One himself! Oh Light, save me!_ He tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Are you the one?" asked Ba'alzamon. "You cannot hide. I know you, from every hair on your head to the deepest thought inside it. I know you. You cannot hide. Not in the deepest pit nor the highest mountain. Are you the one? What do you expect to receive? Glory? Power?"

The man began to rant, in a dangerous and powerful voice. He kept stepping towards Rand who kept backing up, changing directions whenever his back touched the wall.

"Did they tell you the Eye of the World would serve you? Your fate has been in centuries of weaving, but not by the Wheel. Your father was chosen by the White Tower, like a stallion roped. Your mother was carefully picked, like a brood mare. The strings that pull you like a puppet have been put to place before your conception. Those strings pull you according to the Tower's plans and those plans lead to your death. The Amyrlin Seat will use you and consume you, just like Davian and Yurian Stonebow and Guaire Amasalan and Raolin Darksbane. Just like Logain is being used."

A shot of anger had been brought forth by the accusations made against his mother and father, but it died down. Something within him told him to listen. Listen, but not necessarily believe.** Deny the feelings and thoughts of others and you limit your understanding**_._ The moment of clear though was gone, drowned by a new influx of pain.

"I don't… I don't know…" Suddenly a litany popped into his head, something from so far away, an eternity ago. "You are bound to the Shayol Ghul! You and the forsaken. Bound by the Creator until all eternity at the moment of creation…."

"You fool. You live like a beetle under a rock and think your slime is the universe. The death of Time itself will bring me more power than even the Creator has! "

"You are bound…"

"I was never bound!" The man yelled in a deep baritone voice. "I stood at Lews Therin the Kinslayer's shoulders as he slaughtered his children! It was I who told him to kill his wife! It was I who gave him a moment of sanity as I stopped my whisperings and allowed him to see the fall he caused when he dared fight against me! At that moment he could have struck against me. It would have done nothing but he could have tried. Instead he went and drew that precious One Power into him so much that he killed himself! So much power that Dragonmount was born to mark his tomb!"

"Thousand years later I sent the trollocs down south and for _three whole centuries _they savaged the world. They were beaten back and the Aes Sedai claim they won, but at what price? At what price! The Covenant of the Ten Nations was crumbled! Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands _dead_ and wars that had consequences all through history, some still to come!"

The man approached Rand so quickly he had no time to back up. He drew close and began to whisper in Rand's ear.

"It was I who whispered into Arthur Hawkwing's ear and scores of Aes Sedai were killed. Another whisper and the High King sent his armies across the seas, sealing two dooms. I was there, watching and listening, when at his deathbed he was told only an Aes Sedai could heal him. And yet another whisper from me and the Great King's last words were a cry for the destruction of Tar Valon! Such men have stood against me! See what they became? What chance do _you_ have, a pathetic toad at the edge of his small pond, a beetle under his rock? You will serve me or you will serve the White Tower. No alternatives. And then you will die. And when you die, you will serve me still. There is no escape for you! _The dead belong to me!"_

"No." Rand denied fervently, holding his head. "This is a dream. Nothing but a dream. A bad, bad nightmare."

"You think so?" Said Ba'alzamon, suddenly cool and collected as if his previous tirade had never happened. "You still believe that? Do you believe yourself safe from me in a dream? Then watch. Watch closely."

Suddenly, on the table, there was a rat. A big, plump rat. The man pointed his finger at it and bent it. The rat began to squirm as it began to bend backwards. A slight twitch more from the finger and the rat lay dead, doubled over itself backwards in an unnatural way.

"This is a dream. Anything can happen in a dream." Rand said as he swallowed hard before he punched the door in desperation. Pain assaulted his senses, but he didn't wake up.

"Then go to the Aes Sedai. Crawl to the White Tower and become their puppet. And tell them of this dream. Tell them of the names I told you. They will not use you then, not when they know that I know. But will they let you live, free to spread the tale? Are you fool enough to believe they will let you? No, they will simply scatter your ashes on the slopes of Dragonmount, like those of countless others buried there."

Rand kept holding his head, panting in pain. "This is nothing but a dream…Nothing but a dream. I'll wake up soon and this'll be over." **Deny the power of others and you delude yourself. Resist, but don't deny. Accept it and then work with it, through it or in spite of it. **The pain assaulted him once more. It fell over his mind like heavy cloak, interrupting his thoughts and hazing his mind."This is a dream…" _Accept it… But what does it mean… This a normal dream…_ **You delude yourself… You limit your understanding...** _Of course…Aargh, this pain! This is not a normal dream. Can't be. But that would mean..._

"Will you ever wake up, foolish little beetle? Will you? Perhaps this nightmare will go on and o…"

The man couldn't finish as Rand suddenly vanished. Despite losing his audience, Ba'alzamon looked pleased and his cold smile even held a touch of pride. "Well, well, well, it might be you after all. You do have some power within that weak frame of yours, to escape in such a manner before I let you go. "

**xXxXx**

Rand awoke in his bed, gasping and wet with cold sweat. The fire in the fireplace at the room he shared with Thom and Haplo had been reduced to embers. Moonlight coming from a single window lit the room. It had been a dream then… Nothing but a dream. He took long and calm breaths for a while, catching his breath and calming his heart. _Moiraine did say she could help with nightmares. But she's an Aes Sedai. And Haplo did promise to listen…_ He reflexively looked at Haplo sleeping under his covers… He jumped slightly when he saw Haplo stare at him with eyes open wide.

"I'm a light sleeper Rand. Any change in my environment usually wakes me up, unless I'm dead tired. But that is neither here nor now. But perhaps, in the morning, you might want to explain that rat…?"

Rand suddenly couldn't breathe. There, on the room table, was a dead rat. Doubled over backwards with a snapped spine, just like in his dream. **You delude yourself**. The words Haplo had spoken days ago were still fresh on his mind. Rand fell backwards, too tired to think what it might mean. He fell into a fitful, but dreamless, sleep soon after.

Haplo stayed awake for a while longer, pondering of how he had seen the rat _appear_ on the table. There was definitely something going on.


	5. To Balance The Odds

Chapther 4: To balance the odds

**A/N: **Charly: No, I'm not dead. Not yet. And what is this I have in my HD… Is it an update? Oh my, it is! Enjoy. :D

Jjvalour: Yeah, I just had to make something suitably shocking to Min. Hope this chapter makes it a bit clearer on what actually happened to her. And yeah, Haplo was in the Dream World. And no, I'm not going to tell what the creature he saw in there was. It will be revealed, in the future. Though it isn't of too much consequence.

Qaddafi the Ripper: Thank you, you are too kind. The way I see it, one of the major weaknesses of Lan (among some other characters in the Wheelverse) is pride. He takes great pride in what he can accomplish with a blade and Haplo proved that skill utterly lacking. It takes a while to get over that kind of thing, especially when Haplo hasn't made it too easy. That perceived vulnerability affects his actions and is constantly being contradicted by Lan's knowledge of how good a fighter he is. In other words, his judgment on Haplo is going haywire from that and all the added stress of being hunted.

As of this moment, Alfred is not going to appear in this story, due to (1) I feel cannot do him justice with my writing (2) He doesn't actually fit too well into my plans for the plot.

BigDaddyBall: Thank you. And here it is, a new chapter out (finally, I know).

Readers, please review. Even a few words of encouragement sometimes give my muse the much required CPR. Don't be afraid to tell where I'm wrong, out-of-canon without explaining it or just plain illogical. But please, no flames. **Constructive criticism** is beyond welcome, but flames… not so much. And if you don't know the difference, here it is in a nutshell:

Criticism: Tells what went wrong in a clear manner and offer suggestions as to how it might have been better. Flame merely mocks and insults the story or the writer, without telling how it could be done better or even where the writer did mistakes.

So yeah, the newest chapter, just under 10 000 words without the A/N. Enjoy.

**Chapther 4: To balance the odds**

With a sigh Rand tossed his pillow aside and sat up, wincing as he stretched. All the aches he had though he left in the warm bath the night before were back. Even his head hurt. That didn't surprise him though. A dream like that could give anyone a headache. He quickly glanced at the table. The rat was gone. Then again, so was Haplo. Rand was just happy he wouldn't have to see that rat again.

He dressed quickly, hesitating a bit over Tam's...no, _his _sword. He though of the Warder and how he carried his sword with him, even when no apparent danger was around. That sounded reasonable to Rand, so he belted the heron-marked sword on his waist.

He quickly went to the kitchen to get something to eat. His first and only day at Baerlon and he didn't want to miss a moment. But he realised he first would have to talk to someone. Anyone. The names from the dream kept burning his mind and he could vividly see the eyes change from normal to bottomless pits of fire. He shuddered lightly.

_Alas, Thom would be no good__,_ he thought as he ate. He was currently entertaining the folks in the common room by tales of the Horn of Valere, a horn that supposedly would call the dead heroes of old to fight for the Light at the Last Battle.

Moiraine… Rand wasn't sure what he felt about Moiraine knowing. There definitely could be better options. Telling Lan was out of the question, as Lan would tell her the first chance he got. That left only Haplo. Sure, he did seem to look after him and, to a lesser degree, Mat and Perrin. But he was just so damn _odd_ with those sayings of his and his way to look at life. And the way Haplo's hair was brown, but whitening evenly from the _tips_ of his hair was just the last straw. That man was weird.

Then again, he had saved him. And was talking to him when no one else would. His advice had helped during the dream last night. If he could just remember what the revelation he had come to was….

Haplo it was. Now, how to find him.

That proved to be as easy as turning his head. He was at the tavern, listening to Thom. Rand went to his table as soon as he had eaten. Haplo spared him a sideways glance before focusing on the tale again.

"Sleep well Rand?" He asked, smiling but with no humour in his voice.

"You know how I slept. That nightmare didn't come back though. Lucky me." He said sarcastically.

"Yes, lucky you. That is precisely what you are. That dream couldn't have been entirely... yours and you could have ended with a lot worse than an apparent headache." Haplo said, nudging his head around as if to communicate to Rand that while they did have decent privacy while the Gleeman sang and told his tales, someone might always overhear. "I know a lot of things that are deadly and you would deem impossible. Just because you or me for that matter haven't heard of something like this before doesn't mean it can't exist. And keep in mind what Mistress Alys said about you, Mat and Perrin. That one of you _is_ something _he_ wants – that might mean any number of things and only few, if any, of them good."

Rand looked around scared, but relaxed then when he understood the meaning behind Haplo's gesture and words. "Yes well, from what I could gather it was a pretty decent nightmare. I dreamed that the same thing that gave us the reasons to leave in the first place was also behind this dream. And he told me things... and names…" Rand gave a short version of his nightmare.

Slightly impressed with the double talk Rand was doing for one so inexperienced, Haplo responded.

"Ah. Well, dreams plain old dreams. _Most of the time_. Even I sometimes doubt that in the mornings. Yet your mind is always connected to these dreams, for it creates them and one might even say that for a moment even lives in them. If these 'dreams' are not entirely your own as I suspect, you would do well to be careful. I think that for the duration of the dream you are connected to _him_ via the dream. Who knows what _they _or_ him_ might want to do to you? Might force you to do? Or might fool you into doing? In a dream, how can you tell the difference between what you really feel or experience and what is simply a fantasy? Or, as he said it, _does it matter_?" Rand blanched a bit about this.

"My advice would be that in these dreams, it truly doesn't. At that moment it will certainly feel real to you; therefore you must assume the consequences will be real. You cannot afford to think otherwise, not if you want to stay safe. Escape from them as soon as you can, never drink or eat anything, try to avoid injuries and memorize everything you can, yet don't believe anything you're told or shown. Now, as for more immediate help, if you want me to I might be able to arrange something for following nights, to help you sleep without such dreams. Perhaps some _herbs_ or a tonic might help. If I remember correctly, mistress Alys has some for herself. She might be as unwilling to part with them as I'm hesitant to borrow from her, but I think they might help."

"You don't have such… herbs with you?"

"Some, though I haven't exactly used them for a while. I don't need them you see. So I'm unsure if they've gone bad and… will refuse to work. Something like this hasn't exactly been a concern before, you know. Though you did right coming to talk about this; bad dreams impair your actions the following day, perhaps even the day after. I know Thom shares my sentiment of looking after you. He'll help if he can. Perhaps he knows something about those names you were told to remember. But who you talk to is your choice, if you decide to talk at all. You are a man now; no one will be able to force you to do anything you truly don't want to do. Even deciding to trust my advice is up to you. Though if you wanted to ask mistress Alys or talk to her, you might as well ask Master Andra. And he's coming down from the stairs."

Rand slowly turned his head and indeed, Lan was walking towards the bar, only giving them a quick glance.

"You should also consider talking with your friends. Dreams like that might not come to only one person." Haplo said before giving the Gleeman his full attention once more. Rand's eye widened at the thought. Had his friends had such haunting nights as him? He tried to appear calm, but failed, as he rose from his bench and almost ran upstairs towards the room Perrin and Mat had been sleeping in.

Haplo watched him go, before listening to the Gleeman and forgetting Rand for the moment. These stories Thom was telling to the tavern patrons were most likely false, but he knew what magic could do. With little effort, he himself could reconstruct the spells required for the arts of necromancy, since he remembered most of the runes and their positions. But to have a horn that actually called the heroes of old to fight for the Light? That was highly unlikely. Perhaps the horn would call them to fight for the one who blew in it? That would make more sense but even then, how would it know who to resurrect and who not to? And where would it draw the power for the resurrection? The user? That would likely end up killing whoever blew the horn and still come up short a whole lot of magical strength, defeating the entire purpose of calling aid.

No matter, if such a horn existed it could have been made only with higher magic's. That meant runes, the tweaking of reality itself and imposing one's will upon the Weave. This One Power he had witnessed so far, it didn't look like it could do something like that. It was nothing more than manipulation of pure elements after all. Powerful to those unaware of runic magic, but in reality only mediocre in strength at best.

**xXxXx**

Haplo saw as Rand left the building a while later. Pretty soon that tomboyish woman from yesterday came in from the same door, apparently laughing at something. Most likely she had met Rand. Her laughter ended however, when she saw Haplo. It just died on her face, and Haplo immediately saw her hands shaking a bit. Not quite looking at him, she came to sit next to him. Closing her eyes, apparently trying to control her breathing, she asked a simple question in a suddenly near hysterical but quiet voice.

"What are you?"

"I think you might have mixed up your words. I believe the correct word is '_who'_?" Haplo said, smirking a bit. This girl might prove to be a welcome distraction from all the thinking he had done lately.

"No. What are you? I cannot look at you. All I see is nothing. Nothing at all. Not the absence of something I see in normal people, but instead I see the presence of _nothing_. Let's go outside. We need to talk. Before I completely lose it and scream my head out. Please, we need to talk…just….please…."

Quickly going out of the same door she had arrived from, they sat on a couple of empty barrels inside the stables.

"Perhaps you should begin from the start. What do you mean by seeing something in normal people?" Haplo asked in a patient voice. It didn't usually end well to yell at hysterical humans, though that, and a good slap, did occasionally help.

"I can see things. Moiraine says that I see parts of the pattern, of the Weave woven by the great Wheel of Time. If I look at a man a and a woman who have never talked to each other yet I _see_ that they will marry, then they will. Time is not an issue. Nor is distance. If I see a man is destined to die half a world away despite having never been outside of his village, then he _will_ die halfway across the world. I'm never wrong. _Never._ But most of the time I can't make out what the images mean. Either they are too obscure to interpret or just plain unclear and out of focus to make out. And normal people rarely have such images. Perhaps because they are less bound by destiny, because their paths have not been set in stone." She explained, barely controlling her voice.

"But people like Mistress Alys and Master Andra… They have images swirling around them, so many that the pictures almost cover each other, flashing in and out so fast it's almost painful. Same with those three wool-headed farm boys you came with."

"But you…" her voice was again beginning to have a sound of hysteria in it "with you I see nothing at all. Like I said, not nothing as in 'absence of something' but nothing as in 'opposite of something'. You are like a sentient void. To my sight you don't exist, yet you move and affect those around you. Just now, a man in the tavern… yesterday I saw he would become a fairly rich merchant of some kind in the near future. But now, just having been in the same room with you, he'll become one of the Travelling People, leading a life of song and dance, a life of non-violence and fixing pots for ungrateful people for mere scraps."

"Whatever you are, you don't exist. You're merely a hole in the pattern, a void detected only by the presence of others nearby it. You are not part of the pattern. What are you? You don't exist? _What are you_?" she ended with a whisper, hugging herself as if trying to warm her up, tears running down her face.

"I assume you have told Mistress Alys already?"

"She was the one who wanted me to look at you last night. Look at you all and check if I could _see_ anything. Yes, I've told her. Talk. Please…."

"Then there will be no harm in telling you. Whatever new ideas and facts you might deduce have already been considered by Moiraine."

He rose to his feet and began to pace around. "I was not born here, on this world. I'm not a human, despite close resemblance. My race… we are powerful, too powerful even. Yet, for all our power, there are plenty of things we don't understand. And there are a lot more that _I_ don't understand. One of these is how exactly I came to be here, all the way from my world. I travelled somehow, came from… somewhere else, so no wonder you can't see anything. _I don't belong here_. I am not part of this Weave, my life is likely not something this Wheel can touch. And yet, I am still a part of the Wave that guides this world, or as it would seem to be, all the worlds. The Wave is everywhere, at all times. The Wave is everything. You say you see the Weave that is this world. But you don't see the Wave behind it. That would seem to be your limitation. Perhaps this Wheel of Time is the Wave, perhaps not, but you can't see either. That is why you don't see me. I wonder…"

She was clearly stunned, unfocused eyes staring straight ahead. "You… You're serious, aren't you? You're not sick or insane or mad or anything. You actually _believe_ what you say… Light burn me, that _would_ explain it. Another world…. Wave beyond the Weave…Then there's not really anything I can do, is there? No offense, but I hope we never meet after this. You are creepy enough and after saying you were born _outside_ of the Weave… Burn me, that's even creepier." Suddenly she looked Haplo straight in the eyes, her eye wet with tears of hysteria and glazed from fear.

"You scare me and I'm not foolish enough to try and do anything about it. Now, if you'll excuse me..." She said before running away to the back of the stables, apparently trying to laugh, cry and throw up at the same time.

Haplo could merely sigh as he went back in. Not a welcome distraction after all. Essentially telling someone you are beyond their imagination never fit well with anyone, though the girl had managed to keep her wits about her for surprisingly long. Inside the tavern, the gleeman had stopped playing and was apparently eating an early lunch. He joined Thom and ordered a bowl of stew for himself as well.

Haplo had gone out after eating, to get a feel for this small city. Big cities were entirely different, but the culture, traditions and actions of individuals would likely stay close to same. To blend in a big city, you have to be able to blend in a small city. Here, he could play a dumb farmer. At Tar Valon, he could play coming from this town. And all of it would reduce his half-forced dependability on Moiraine and Lan as sources of information and continued well-being. He tried looking for some weapon smiths to buy a sword and a few daggers for himself as he was currently unarmed, but when he only found a few rusty, clearly inferior quality blades sold at ridiculous prices at the local blacksmith he decided not to bother. If he needed, he could always use magic to conjure temporary blades though it would take a moment.

It didn't take him too long to decide that things were not going well for these _mensch_. The food sold by the different stalls along the streets was of low quality and mostly rotten, meat was scarce and usually full of maggots and the prices were quite high. Even the deplorable sartan of Abarrach had had better or equal food. _And they had been dying off for centuries._

This could not be natural. With the sartan, their continued practice of necromancy and lack of heat had been major parts of their undoing. 'For every life restored, another dies untimely.' And the dead could not be controlled forever, leading to the final revolt of the undead and the deaths of the last true sartan on that world.

Here, something else was slowly killing off the people. Perhaps it was this mysterious Father of Lies. It was beginning to look possible that it actually existed as a force of evil, much like the dragon snakes, but Haplo still doubted this. There was no continued presence of negative emotions within large groups of extremely powerful beings to give birth to something like them. And the Wave would have created an equal but opposite force to counter it.

This train of though was cut off as a group dressed in white cloaks, _the infamous Children of the Light_ though Haplo, were embarrassed as a cartload of barrels came tumbling from an alley and ran over them. Pissed off and dirty, they had apparently caught whoever had caused it. It wasn't until Haplo caught sight of the familiar face of Rand that Haplo guessed what had happened.

_Oh by the stinking sartan, does that boy have no sense at all? He's supposed to lay low and avoid attention and now__ he's actually first pissed off, and then trying to stare down, a group of men older and far more experienced and vicious than he is. And in a place anyone can see him. If this was the Labyrinth, I'd kill him myself for his stupidity. What is he thinking!_

He was about to go and help and then possibly kill the lad himself when the town watch arrived to diffuse the situation. They might not have had too much of shiny armour on, merely leather vests and quarterstaffs, but they looked like they meant business.

"This town has lost the Light!" proclaimed a Whitecloak, apparently the leader. "Be sure darkfriend, I'll remember your face. And when we meet again it shall be under the Light, not in a small village that travels in Dark." he said, glaring at Rand before leaving, the town watch trailing behind.

Haplo was about to go and scold the foolish boy, when he saw Mat come out of a shop. "Of course," Haplo cursed, "it likely wasn't Rand if Mat is present. The troublemaker striker at the worst possible moment. He needs a good whipping to wizen him up."

Unfortunately they left immediately and due to the crowded street Haplo didn't catch them until they were back at the inn, telling to Tom about their dreams in the common room. Haplo sat down with them and listened to yet another impromptu history lesson about False Dragons of the past. He didn't have the heart to scold them in such a public space after essentially reliving their nightmare. The walk back to the inn had also calmed him down a bit, making him take note of his own advice. _Think before you act._ Mat certainly would be getting the whip, or something like it later and Rand would be getting a bit more of lessons about real life. Perhaps some kind of memory transfer spell would do it…

It wasn't until Perrin had joined them and his mention of Nynaeve, the Wisdom of Emond's Field being present at the inn that things got interesting. Apparently she had followed them in what Haplo though was likely a misguided attempt to bring them back. Rand and Mat were clearly horrified.

They were on their way to the room in which Nynaeve and Moiraine we 'discussing' the situation in a 'civilized manner'. The yelling could be heard from halfway down the hall. Unfortunately they managed to bump into Min on their way there. She carefully ignored Haplo's presence as she proceeded to tell Rand, Mat and Perrin that whatever was happening, Nynaeve was as much part of it as they were. Her presence was meant to be and yet increased the danger they were in. She saw that too. Haplo gave a mirthless laughter from the sidelines... This fate business, it sounded quite funny. Not that any of it applied to him even if something like that did exist, but sometimes the mensch and their convictions were just too funny.

As expected, the boys didn't take Min's message too well, protesting loudly until they were outside the door beyond which lay the fires of hell, otherwise known as the temper of Nynaeve al'Meara.

**xXxXx**

While the others went in, Haplo stayed outside. He had no wish to be on the receiving end of an irate, spoiled and immature child. A resourceful and strong willed child to be sure, but a child nonetheless. Instead, he took a shoulder-width stance at the door, folded a bit of the cloth from his tunic into a small ball distantly resembling a handle of a dagger tucked into his waist and formed a tight, expressionless smile onto his face. Anyone not knowing better would instantly think of him as a bodyguard. Anyone who was supposed to know better would think they so smart to see through the ruse, take one good look at his eyes and decide here was someone even tougher than a bodyguard. Either way, they wouldn't dare to approach him or the door. It was simple, really: show the people what they expect to see and you can guide their thoughts with minor details added to the persona presented. A hard lesson learned for Haplo among his time among the mensch_._ But dead useful.

As long as he kept that persona up, no one would try to question him for standing outside a simple and entirely too boring door in a random inn, easily distracting them from the shouting match inside and making sure Haplo could listen in all he wanted. And, amidst all the shouting, quiet cursing and whispered verbal stabbing some interesting things were indeed said.

Nynaeve was a good tracker. Good, as in really good. Lan, the warder, had made sure their tracks were well covered and yet she had found them, barely having to stop to check the traces left by their passing. Either se was as good as a patryn living a lifetime in the Labyrinth, or merely decent by patryn standards and something had been pushing for this meeting and helping her catch up. That didn't sound too likely. Tracking them was a respectable achievement.

Nynaeve's lack of respect for half their home village, its council, the boys and Egwene and their parents were made quite clear. Along with her belief that this was all an elaborate ruse to kidnap them for some insidious Aes Sedai ends. No, she most emphatically did not believe the trollocs had been real or that they were after anyone. Simply tricks of light played upon a marauding bandit group or perhaps an illusion cast by the very Aes Sedai present in the room. And yea, here, among the Whitecloacks and backstabbing Baerlonites they were in way more danger than back at their home village.

And yes, she though Rand and his father were idiots for believing this Aes Sedai nonsense and trying to tell her off from bringing them back home.

Apparently the situation was heating up a bit, so much so that Moiraine asked to be left alone with the Wisdom. As everyone else filed away from the room, they all simply glanced at Haplo but Lan also made a quiet remark.

"I suppose the word 'privacy' is unknown to you?"

"Not unknown. But when something might concern my future, I want to know. Don't tell me you have never spied on someone?" Haplo replied without emotion in his voice. He would have unnerved any normal man with that toneless voice, but Lan was not normal.

Lan merely grunted in reply, clearly unhappy at Haplo not respecting Moiraine's wishes.

The two women didn't stay inside too long. They mostly talked about what was necessary, what _would_ happen (well, mostly Moiraine talked and Nynaeve listened) and some thinly veiled questions about if anyone of the three boys was born outside of the Two Rivers.

It was then that Haplo knew who Moiraine was most interested in. Rand. He was adopted. His features weren't like those of the men he had seen in Emond's Field during his short stay. Apparently Moiraine hadn't yet figured it out or needed more proof for whatever decision she would have to make. Of course, she didn't know everything Haplo knew about the boy. That meant Haplo still had time to teach some of the fundamentals of life to the boy. Hopefully, when they would be swept away by whatever events were to come, the boy would be mature enough to not blunder about too much.

The only question remained was why would Rand be so important to either side of this war or dispute between the Aes Sedai and this Ba'alzamon character. A horrible nagging feeling at the back of his head was forming a thought. One not too likely to be true but it was one that merited more time to think about.

Rand was somehow connected to this Karaethon Cycle the gleeman was spouting off occasionally. How, why and to what level were unknowns, as was the accuracy of these so-called prophesies. Sure, seeing the future might be possible but not to the degree that someone could make any accurate predictions. After all, Haplo didn't believe in fate. That would mean there was a purpose for all the suffering his race had gone through and implied that someone or something intelligent was responsible for that suffering.

But one thing was certain from the dream the boys had had. At least one of the boys was able to do magic and so far the most likely candidate was Rand. Something would have to be done about his attitude towards it.

**xXxXx**

The discussion inside the room didn't last long and Moiraine and Nynaeve came out. They began to leave for the common room where the gleeman had once again started to entertain people. Nynaeve changed some words with Rand, apparently pleased by something about him. Perhaps it was the budding confidence and maturity.

Haplo decided not to go downstairs. He had some tasks that needed doing, so he instead retreated to the room he shared with Rand. He locked the door with a simple rune on its surface and sat down on the floor.

The only way to make the boys see that magic was not an enemy, merely a tool, would be to make them get used to it. So he decided to make them amulets for protection. And tracking, though he necessarily wouldn't tell them that. If they for some reason got separated, he would be able to find the amulets, even create a gate to them.

He began to draw runes on the floor with his hands, softly chanting the names of the symbols as he drew them into a circle in front of him. Soon it was complete and with a simple push of his will and the chanted name of the first rune he had drawn the circle was activated. The runes began to glow as they connected, their meanings expanding, connecting and going out to the fabric of the reality itself. Mindlessly the runes searched for the possibility that corresponded to them. They found it, latched unto it and wove it into the fabric of reality.

Haplo watched as the light from the runes stopped and he picked up three simple round iron amulets from the floor. They felt rough, as if only a mediocre craftsman had made them. The slight imperfections and the material would serve to make them unattractive to any thieves and would likely pass through a cursory inspection as nothing more than simple luck amulets worn by superstitious farmers. The amulets weren't large, easily fitting into the palm of Haplo's hand.

He wiped away the runes on the floor with his hand, before drawing a few more. This time he conjured a small coppery pick. He would use it to draw the necessary runes on the amulets.

Deciding that now was a good time as any, he also conjured a double-bladed sword. It wasn't too long, only half of his height and relatively narrow. It had a simple guard of curved steel to protect his hand and a simple smooth wooden handle with no decorations. The blade was made from steel and felt and looked a bit crude but effective.

That latest spell had taken a bit out of Haplo. Apparently this kind of sword wasn't to be found nearby and thus the probability of him having one was low. All the riding they had done in recent days had also left Haplo a bit tired. All he would need now was a suitable scabbard and finish the amulets and he would be ready. A few runes to the sword might also help, but too many would attract unwanted attention. Besides, nothing he had seen so far seemed too much of a threat to require a truly magical sword.

He wiped the floor clean of any runes. He took the pick into his hand and carefully began to carve the desired runes to the amulets, making his raw magic flow though the pick to momentarily soften up the iron underneath it.

It took him five minutes to finish the first amulet. On one side there was a protective rune-structure that even non-magical people would be able to use to some degree. On the other side was a large rune that would act as a location marker. He had surrounded that rune with symbols of preservation so that if the magical energies of a strained shield would begin to melt the amulet, the locator rune would still stay intact.

A bit later he had all three amulets ready. He had triple-checked the runes on all three amulets just to make sure they would work properly. Sure, he likely could do those simple rune-structures with his eyes closed while singing a drinking song, but focusing on a task never hurt anybody. Besides, he remembered the time he had messed up a supposedly simple spell on Chelestra, the world of water. That had cost him a perfectly good dagger due to inattention.

He stretched a bit, his legs feeling numb from the time he had been sitting on the floor. But for now his task was done. He put the small pick into a pocket and decided to go give the amulets to the boys. He would also need to explain their function to them and likely allow them to practice a bit.

He removed the rune on the door, unlocking it, and went down the stairs from where the commotion of a lively tavern was heard.

**xXxXx**

The party was in full swing. Thom Merrilin was playing a flute on the stage and people were dancing. The smell of spilled beer and cheap wine filled his nose and the sound of the flute, some kind of small drums and the dozens of feet hitting the floor simultaneously created a cacophony that made it almost impossible to hear anything else. Haplo stopped at the bottom of the stairs, watching the strange dances and general merriment from the sidelines slightly disgruntled. Here they were, the three boys and two girls aware of the danger they were in and yet they were dancing and having fun. Sure, he knew life was unfair. But this was such a bitter remainder for him. Life had been so much simpler when Xar was his lord and always right, when vengeance against the sartan had filled his life and he was unaware of the horrible truth of the world and its true history. Of the pain and suffering he hated and yet had been a part of the cycle that bred it.

Life had been hard before that as well, in his...home. Hard and brutal. He had few things he had enjoyed. Marit, the love he had never realised while he wallowed in his hate for the sartan. The dog that had found its way into his company when he was almost through the final Gate. Of course, as he had found out later, the dog was merely a physical representation of his soul. When he had come to terms with himself and his past, the dog had become unnecessary and 'died' away, joining his spirit once more. But it had still been a companion.

But most of all, Haplo was sad. He had no idea what future would hold for him, but he doubted it would be anything like this happiness he was seeing on the face of these humans. The utter joy they found in such simple things. Of the possibility of love they had.

_Mensch… such simple creatures. So foolishly unaware of the harshness of reality. Wilfully ignorant even. And yet… so happy in their ignorance__, not caring about what they cannot affect. As persistent and tenacious as any patryn if pushed hard enough. Up to the task if required. Surprisingly reliable. And rest of the time… they try to find happiness wherever they can, forget the hard times and forge ahead._

He though of Rand. An orphan by a certain definition, not the easiest childhood and yet had a loving farther. Something he had never had. He though of his daughter, Rue. If she was even alive. He had never seen her, hadn't even known of her existence a few months ago when Marit told him. He never would see his daughter. He could never be the father for his daughter unlike as Tam had been for Rand. He had realized it earlier, but now the thought truly hit home.

_Is this…__ envy? I'm actually envious of the _mensch!? _They will quite likely have something I never will! By the scales of a dragon, they are right now having something I likely will never have!_ A quiet sigh escaped from his mouth. He would not be able to let go of his worries or his grim knowledge to truly enjoy such a simple and utterly pointless activity as dancing. Too much bad memories were in the way. True to his name, he was alone._ We were the mistake. Sartan and patryn, neither of us should have ever existed. So much pain and suffering would have been avoided. This… happiness, ability to enjoy oneself from the small good things in life is what the world should be like. Even mere contentment is better than what we lot could ever bring the mensch. Gods indeed. What a joke we were. Power, far too much power for our own good. Solidified in the single act of Sundering… What arrogance, on both sides. Who are we to think ourselves above the mensch when cannot even grasp their joy of simplicity. Always seeing too many problems around us, always thinking we have the answers. Always searching for perfection. Never just letting go, accepting reality as it comes forward. _

_Perhaps its time I learned something new. Let them dance, let them enjoy themselves tonight. This isn't what the grim reality is like, but it certainly is what reality _should_ be like._

_Time to let go of my pride and learn something from the mens… no, humans. Not mensch, never again. Dwarves, elves, humans. An equal in things that matter. No more unnecessary secrecy. No more haughtiness. Perhaps…perhaps they can teach me to let go. But to do that…_

"I will make sure you live." he muttered, not realising he had said it aloud. Nynaeve, who left the dance to take a small breather next to him, heard it despite all the noise. Haplo was a mystery to him, having first claimed to be a guard, then a runaway soldier and now… something else. Standing on the last stair, looking at something as commonplace as a dance with such an alien look on his face, the whites on the tips of his brown hair framing his rough, chiselled face. He had looked so… so out of his place. The tight façade that hadn't even cracked back at Emond's Field was down. From what she had seen from the dance floor and now from besides him, she could see that the look on his had turned from contempt to utterly sad and lonely to some kind of... determination? Resolve? It puzzled her.

But those words had put an entirely new twist to her thoughts. He clearly wasn't aware of his surroundings, watching the dance without seeing. Those words were not meant to be heard. And yet she had.

When they had met, Haplo had assaulted her. Well, that was what she loudly proclaimed. And yet... The way he had moved, his muscles showing, rippling with barely restrained force. His eyes…those pools of green, alight with inner fire…She still remembered how his hand had felt on her arm. Sure, it had hurt, but if that hand had been gentler…

Of course, she would never utter these thoughts aloud. And not knowing anything about him or his motives had immediately set her on her guard. But now, she could relax a little. At least he wouldn't work against them. Not after a declaration like that.

She quietly slipped away from Haplo, not wanting to alert him to her presence. Besides, a song she loved to dance was about to begin. Thom really could play that flute of his, as expected from a gleeman.

Haplo meanwhile was done with his impromptu train of thought. The amulets could wait. He found an empty chair, ordered a bit of roast to eat and watched the merriments go on. He would make two more amulets, for the girls. If the boys deserved protection, so did they. He would make sure they would have the time needed to grow up and face reality.

After nightfall though, he began to feel a familiar tingling and itching sensation. Danger. His eyes darted back and forth, looking for the source. He did see one man with a large scar on his face, but he wouldn't classify as danger to his senses. No human here would be able to threaten him.

_Outside then.__ Or the kitchens. Either way, we better do something. Moiraine has been running the show quite well so far and she knows the local geography. But getting Thom out from the top of that stage/table might be problematic. Too many people want him to keep playing._

He tried to subtly get the gleeman's attention, but Thom was too much into the playing to notice. Having failed at that he pushed himself through the crowds, getting next to Moiraine.

"We have a problem, Lady." He said softly, looking the Aes Sedai straight into her eyes. "I believe the men that were after us on Two Rivers are here and quite close by. We need a plan, now."

Her smile never wavered, but Haplo could see a change in her eyes. Suddenly mirth was gone and icy steel replaced whatever softness they had exhibited mere moments ago.

"Gather the boys. Pack your things and wait at your room. Do not separate. I'll get the others. We'll knock four times. Go." she said equally softly and began to dance towards Egwene who was having fun dancing with some local youngster.

Haplo quickly made his way to Rand and Mat who were on the sidelines, drinking something. Beer, judging from the smell.

"Act normal. We got a problem. Go wait next to the stairs, we're packing. Do not leave this room without me. I'm going to get Perrin, Lady Alys will get the others. Move." he said, the urgency in his voice clear even though he spoke in low tones. The boys were apparently frozen in their boots, since they only exhibited horror on their faces and didn't move a muscle. "Now, boys. Move. _Move_."

They quickly scurried through the small mass of people towards the stairs. Haplo had already turned around, searching for Perrin with his eyes. He quickly spotted him on the other side of the room, fortunately looking straight at him. A quick nod of his head towards Mat and Rand had Perrin making his way towards them. Soon they all were next to the stairs.

"Up the stairs, we're packing. Mat's and Perrin's room first. Stay close to me. Move"

They were quickly at their room, Mat and Perrin throwing their stuff into their backpacks.

"What is this about?" asked Rand after apparently finally finding his voice.

"Trouble is here. Most likely the trollocs or a fade. They…" before Haplo could continue, a panicking Rand interrupted him.

"What about Egwene and Nynaeve? We got to get them!" he said, moving towards the door.

Haplo's hand snapped out, grabbing Rand from his shoulder with surprising speed, stopping him in his tracks.

"Moiraine will take care of them. I already told you that, Rand. Calm down, panic will only hinder us. We will wait in our room once we are done here." He said with a clam, reassuring voice. A quick glance at the other boys made them redouble their efforts to pack their bags.

Not five minutes later they were at the room Haplo and Rand had shared, packing their things. Haplo was done a lot quicker, not having much to begin with. He tied the scabbard of his sword on his left hip, ready to be drawn if necessary. Rand was done not a lot later.

Haplo sat down on one of the beds to wait; the boys were far too antsy to stay put, pacing around the small room. Haplo decided now would be as good a time as any for the amulets.

He took them out from his pockets, giving each of the boys one. They merely stared at him, though from the even greater unease Rand and Perrin suddenly exhibited, they had recognized the markings as runes.

"Put these on, hide them under you shirts. Tie the leather straps well; you don't want to lose these. They will protect you and allow me to locate you if we get separated." He sighed at the momentarily horror that spread through their faces.

"Listen, they will provide some passive protection, but you have to activate them for any real effect. Listen and memorize well. Think of a campfire, with bright flames, forcing away the dark, giving warmth around it. You feel the warmth in your skin. See the fire in your mind. See moths dancing around it. Hear the fire crackle as it burns through the wood, but keep your focus on the warmth the fire provides." He drew a simple rune on the floor in front of them.

"Remember this symbol. See it in the fire. See it in flames, but not burning up. Instead, as it burns it becomes brighter and brighter, until it _is_ the fire. Well, think of it! Hurry up! I have no time for any lengthy teaching!" he said testily, becoming angry that the boys were merely staring at the amulets with revulsion.

"I know you don't like magic" Haplo said after taking a small moment to calm himself down. "But think of it this way. You are playing dice. Losing means you will get wounded or you die. Winning means you get to play another round. But you can win only by rolling a double-six, anything else and you loose. This is the same. You cannot fight against a fade or superior number of trollocs. You might survive against them a short while with luck, but sooner or later your luck runs out. This amulet will protect you. It's like having one loaded die, always rolling a six. The amulet will balance the odds, more in your favour."

He could see he was getting to them. Slowly Perrin gulped, closed his eyes and said "The campfire. The moths. What next?"

Seeing Perrin try to do it inspired Mat and Perrin as well. They closed their eyes as well.

"Good. The symbol. See the symbol burn and get stronger for it. That is your focus. The symbol giving light and warmth. The more detail you have, the more you remember about the moths, the receding darkness, the more power the symbol will have."

"Now, keep the fire in your mind and repeat after me: _ulthaee."_

"Ulthe", "Uthe" the boys said aloud.

"No, _ulthaee_. Long e. _ulthaee_"

The boys didn't get it quite right at first, but soon Mat said it perfectly.

"_ulthaee"_ he said and suddenly he could feel it working. Warmth was spreading from his limbs towards his chest, towards the amulet. He opened his eyes to see the amulet glowing, the small symbols on it multiplying, dancing in the air and covering him in a yellowish globe. He panicked, starting to rip off the amulet from his chest. As soon as he got it off and threw it to the other side of the small room, the glow around him and on the amulet vanished, as if it had never existed.

Mat was muttering something about the breaking of the world and bloody Aes Sedai as he stared in revulsion the now dormant amulet lying on the floor.

"Good work. That was exactly what was supposed to happen, Mat. Now, get used to the feeling. Keep burning that image into your mind, make it come to you faster and faster. Say the word again and again. Keep repeating it. And remember, this amulet will only protect you. The energy isn't even taken from you, not really. It is just like using a hammer. It has no will of its own; the magic cannot force you to do anything. It is simply there should you need it. The amulet is merely a tool. Nothing more."

Mat was still staring at the amulet with almost unnatural intensity, but did pick it up and tie it back around his neck.

Perrin managed a similar result mere moment later; though he managed to keep his cool and not freak out. Before Rand had managed any success though, there was a knock on the door. Then three more knocks.

Haplo prepared himself to fight even as he opened the door with a bit of magic. To his relief, it was Moiraine, Lan, Egwene, Nynaeve and, surprisingly, Thom the Gleeman.

"All done?" Moiraine asked curtly. At Haplo's nod, she continued "Good. We leave. Nynaeve has decided to join us, to see I don't do any Aes Sedai bewitching on the boys." Here at cold glance was directed at Nynaeve, though it soon settled on Thom. "And Thom has decided that come morning it would be pretty bad for his health to be known as our friend and still be within this little town."

_Reasonable_, thought Haplo_, though that can't be everything. Then again, perhaps I'm reading too much into something that actually is so simple. I only wish even Rand had had the chance to complete my little tutoring session with the amulet. Then again, if he is what I think he is then he would have harder time at it. But the results…_

"Fine with me, Moiraine..Sedai." Haplo said, with only slight hesitation in his voice. Only Nynaeve had an inkling as to what had caused this sudden respect creep into Haplo's voice and she wasn't telling. "Let's go boys. Remember what I said and keep practicing whenever you have time."

The others didn't comment on that or on his actions as he swooped through the room one last time, removing any traces of their presence and vestiges of magic.

They went through the tavern as a tight group, moving next to the walls and avoiding the main room altogether, where the last murmurs of a dissatisfied crowd could be heard over the sounds of large amounts of beer being consumed.

As they were on the stables, saddling their horses, Haplo heard Moiraine lamenting to Lan over the stubbornness of innkeepers and their foolishness of thinking darkfriends were only wretched, poor men hiding in shadows, afraid of the law. Apparently Moiraine actually though of the innkeeper with some level of fondness and she was fairly certain that he would not live through the night.

Unfortunately Haplo had nothing he could give or create for extended protection on such a short notice. Even if he had a few days, it might be impossible to find a suitable rune configuration of sufficient strength. He would need a week, minimum, for any kind of guaranteed result. A week they didn't have. Regrettable, but apparently unavoidable, based on the near certainty Moiraine exhibited. Haplo could merely hope that should the man die, his death would be fast and painless.

He quickly shook himself back to present and his amateurish act of preparing his horse for riding.

Soon they were under way, riding on the abandoned streets of Baerlon towards the eastern gate.

**xXxXx**

"You's not be wanting to leave now m'lady. Th' gate's closed till sunup. N'one comes in, tha's an order. 'Sides, theres wolves out there. Killed a dozen cows last week and a man ain't tha' much harder tha kill. M'lady, turn back and find yer ladyship a room to sleep i'."

"I do happen to want to leave now. Besides, we are not coming in, we are leaving. Therefore, no laws or orders will have been broken. And I trust my men enough to not to worry about a wolf or two."

"But m'lady…" said the guardsman, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

"No one is coming in and nothing was said about leaving. You said it yourself." Moiraine responded. He also gestured to Lan with her hand. A few coins changed hands.

"For your trouble and to easy your distress over the lady's safety. The lady is in a hurry." Lan said, giving the guard a pointed look.

The guard seemed to have an internal struggle of sorts, before nodding his head once and then hollering towards the gate. "Open tha gate, we 'ave people leaving!"

"What you be yammering about, Yir? It's night out here!" came the response.

"Dar, don' ye be arguing about. Just open tha gate! Ann, ye better get yer side open as well an' ye better do it fas'!"

The gates began to open, however, before they were even halfway open, a cold voice surprised them from behind.

"What is this? Are the gates not supposed to stay closed from sunset to sunrise?"

Haplo knew this type of voice well. He had listened to something like it during his brief imprisonment by the sartan. It was the voice of the 'great' Samah. It was the voice of the dragon snakes once you realized their true nature. It was the voice of his former lord Xar when he was speaking to someone who was not a patryn.

It was the voice of someone who believed themselves to be above those they spoke to, both in power and in status. The cool, carefully crafted syllables spoken in a supposedly cultured manner delivered with a voice containing a hint of distain.

And, considering the situation, it was the voice of an utter fool who had no idea what he was messing with.

Haplo turned around and saw five cowled men, their faces hidden but the white robes adorned with a golden sun on their left breasts announced clearly who they were. And they all were resting their hands over the hilts of their swords.

"This is none of your affair." Said the first watchman. "The Children of the Light have no say over our business. The governor…"

"Only where the Shadow of the Dark One resides are the Children of the Light denied. Is such a shadow lying over this town? Has the governor forsaken the Light? Have _you_?" The man turned his head to look at each of them in turn, but when he looked at Lan he stopped for a while and hesitated.

Lan had not moved. Not a single muscle, even on his face, had even twitched when the men had entered and made their claim. His stance wasn't threatening as such, he even looked like he was completely at ease. But not many men could look at the Children of the Light and look so… unimpressed. Contemptuous even.

The man did another take when he switched his gaze to rest on Haplo. Haplo didn't bother to even thinly veil his contempt and his mouth was pulled to a slight smile that seemed to say that he was currently looking at the greatest joke he had ever seen.

The man didn't like the looks one bit. He added suspiciously "Wolves stalking in the night, rumours of the Dark Ones handiwork nearby the town. Who would want to leave the walls of a town during a night such as this?"

His gaze then swep aross Rand and for a third time he stopped. "And so the Light illuminates the mystery away. I know you boy! You are the darkfriend that caused that commotion earlier this day and ridiculed me and my men." Smugness practically oozed out of the man.

"And these must your mentors in the dark ways. Darkfriends, all of them! Arrest them!"

Moiraine was about to move, but he remembered Lan's words from earlier of the week. _Only one of us will ride tired. Pray the Light she doesn't get too tired before we reach Tar Valon._ He could take care of these fools just as well as Moiraine could, but Moiraine was a lot better at healing people than he was. Haplo was also a lot stronger.

"Not quite so fast, men!" he shouted to the Children of the Light. He forced his body to react as if danger was present, the runes on his body glowing. A few non-vocalized runes drawn discreetly with his hands began to trap them to an illusion of his weaving.

"You could have just let us through as you should have, but you have fallen to the sin of pride! To think some of my children would have this arrogance!" He intoned in a commanding voice.

The robed men quickly pulled down their cowls, clearly not believing their eyes. In front of them stood an elderly man with a well-trimmed beard, wisdom born from age showing on his face wearing under his plain outer clothing the white robes of the Childern themselves. But instead of merely the golden sun, his left breast was also marked with a scarlet shepherds crook. The men obviously not only recognized the symbol, but also the man in front of them. They fell on their knees, heads bowed.

"Lord Inquisitor Carridin! If we had known…"

"You would have acted in a different manner. A sad story, repeated over and over again among my children when they get caught from their wrongdoing." The slightly glowing man seemed to say, with sadness and disappointment clear on his voice.

"To think you would act so openly against those you are meant to protect! To name them friends of the Dark so callously and without an inquisitor anywhere near to find out the truth! Is this the truth of our brotherhood on this day? You gave the oaths! You swore in front of the Light! And yet you act like glorified thieves, bothering good citizens, not to mention _me_, when we simply go about our business, obeying the laws? Shame on you! Are you really so blind to the Light? Perhaps you should have your faith tested by an inquisitor! I might even do it myself! Or have you fallen so deep that absolution is no longer possible for you!? Weep, my children, for you have lost the way!"

The men on the ground truly were weeping from a sudden feeling of utter shame and committed betrayal, practically grovelling before the unexpected appearance of one of their holiest leaders. It was clear they were also afraid. The tender mercies of an inquisitor were well known even outside of the Children and here the very leader of the inquisitors doubted their faith and commitment to Light.

"My, my, my Lord we…" the no longer so pompous leader of the five men stuttered. "We are sorry Your Grace! Please, allow us a chance to repent! You, Your Holiness should no longer bother yourself with such lowly brothers as us! We will go repent, we will ask the nearest inquisitor for purification! We will renounce the Dark! Please oh Hand of the Light, allow us a chance to repent!"

The man in front of them seemed to study them meticulously, his gaze penetrating their flesh and baring their souls. He seemed to weigh something within all of them, like a master craftsman judging the worthiness of an apprentice's work. The gaze he eventually gave them was the pitying look of a master examining what the apprentice though was a great job, only for it to be revealed so full of mistakes that the master had no idea if even he could list all of them before dying of old age. But it also said that maybe, just _maybe_ if you polish hard enough and look in the correct light, a speck of what someone might call competence on a good day would be revealed underneath all that grime and mud he saw.

It was the gaze of the ultimate judge being utterly disappointed in what he saw, but one that nonetheless gave that small grain of hope to its recipients, out of mere pity.

"Then repent, my children! Go, purify yourselves and find the way once more! Seek the Light and renounce the evil whisperings of the Dark! Remember how easily you fell, constantly guard your thoughts and examine your actions and perhaps, Light willing, the Lord creator shall shine his Light on you once more! Go, out of my sight, impure ones!" he ended, with an imperious voice that conveyed to them how merciful the man had been in letting them go and giving them this _slim_ chance of actually not disappointing him should they meet again.

The five Children of the Light quickly bowed before running away as fast as they could, screaming for forgiveness from the Creator.

The guardsmen along with the boys, Thom, Moiraine and her Warder, Egwene and Nynaeve saw things quite differently. Haplo had commanded the men to stop, had begun to glow and, for some reason, the men had stopped. They had stood still, a myriad of emotions running through their faces before settling on fear and self-loathing. Then they had run away, screaming for forgiveness.

Haplo, looking quite smug for the briefest moment quickly looked just as amazed as the others, stating in a surprised voice "Well, that's something you don't see every day. Perhaps they saw the error of their ways? In any case, they apparently shall bother us no more. Well, were we leaving or what?"

Not a word was said as they rode into the night.


End file.
